No wonder he's pessimistic. And so, with bad economic news flooding the company and politicians seemingly hapless and helpless, Ikushima is taking steps to protect himself. The Tokyo stock market's Nikkei average is plumbing 16-year lows, devastating the balance sheets of anemic banks and raising fears that some institutions may fail.
Consumer spending remains weak, and exports are dropping as the U.S. slows down.
The yen is slipping against the dollar. And the government is stuck in limbo as Prime Minister Mori Yoshiro insists he hasn't promised to quit while nearly everybody else says he has. Once again, Japan seems to be skirting disaster with no one at the helm. And people like Ikushima are wondering if the once-mighty Japanese economy has any future at all. Should Japan collapse, the rest of Asia could be hit hard.