The more things change in Japan, the more they seem to stay the same. It’s undeniable that 1998 was a time of vast turbulence and institutional upheaval in a country that greatly values stability. The financial system wobbled, a credit crunch blanketed the economy, unemployment hit record levels, two huge banks were nationalized, the Ministry of Finance’s (MOF) infamous ‘convoy system’ lost all credibility, and the beginnings of a real bank regulatory system began to take shape in the form of the Financial Supervisory Agency (FSA).