Fresh attempts to sort out Japan's rotten banks were never going to be easy. Still, few expected that Heizo Takenaka, the new financial-affairs minister, would stumble so quickly. Just three weeks after taking on the job of overseeing the banks, and before he could even lay out his reform plan, Mr Takenaka was in trouble. His intention to propose broad measures on October 22nd for cleaning up the banks was stymied at the last minute by angry politicians in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). They said that his proposals, which included better provisions against dud loans and tighter restrictions on bank capital, were too harsh.
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