But full liberalisation of interest rates and the exchange rate must still be some way off given the fragility of the banking system.

ECONOMIST: It is time for China to unshackle the price of money

In South Korea, because of the fragility of its political institutions, because it too has delayed banking reform but most of all because unlike in Japan and South-East Asia the rot in Korea is not confined to finance but extends across many of the country's biggest industrial conglomerates (see article).

ECONOMIST: Reality hits Japan