Japanese banks escaped the worst of the credit crunch which has, however, caused Tokyo to become even more inward looking.

Before the crash in 1990, Japanese bankers and policymakers used to talk about the "internationalisation of the yen" and of promoting Tokyo as a major financial centre. All this talk has long gone. Indeed, the financial crisis in the West and difficulties in doing business in Japan have led to the departure or drastic retrenchment of a large number of foreign financial