Tokyo's new American-style debate.

• Position: Off The News

It looks as though one economist, Heizo Takenaka, is attempting to conduct a large-scale experiment with the Japanese economic system and the banking sector that forms a critical part of the system. But since it could possibly throw the lives of many into devastation, such an experiment without sufficient prior calculations and considerations must never be conducted. With Mr. Takenaka's plan, the banks now have little choice but to rapidly slash their assets to prepare for the worst possible scenario.

Recently, at a board meeting of a large corporation, the CEO and the directors were discussing a new business plan. Someone asked, "How about the plan's financing?" "No bank is prepared to lend money," was the answer. This was not a joke, but a true story. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has for years called for the cleanup of bad loans and a recovery of Japanese banks' role as financial...