Until recently, Japan stood on the periphery of the earthquake shaking the financial markets in the US and Europe. But, as shockwaves continued to reverberate around the globe, even the edge was no longer a safe place to be.
On the day this special report went to press, Yamato Life Insurance collapsed, with $2.7bn in liabilities, becoming the first direct financial-sector casualty of the escalating global credit crisis. Analysts blamed its collapse on exposure to securitisation products. Its demise came within hours of the bankruptcy of a listed real estate investment trust (Reit), New City Residence.
