These part-timers have watched the value of their land fall dramatically since the property bubble burst over a decade ago, and have failed to make investments in their farms.

ECONOMIST: Japan's farmers

Analysts reckon that at least 15 of the 119 construction firms listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange are bust in all but name, as the value of their land holdings bought at the height of the bubble has plummeted and loans guaranteed to subsidiaries and property developers have turned sour.

ECONOMIST: Japanese property

Founded in 1875, Toshiba grew fat during Japan's 1980s bubble years, when the economy boomed on the back of land speculation and consumer spending reached dizzy heights.

CNN: ASIANOW - Asiaweek

Instead, availability of land simply fed speculative activity, which has made the popping of the bubble much more painful.

ECONOMIST: When the roof fell in

One could always count on the land rising in value year after year, at least before the Japanese property bubble burst in 1990.

CNN: SELLING THE COMPANY CASTLE

Yet the Bank of Japan began to act about six months after land prices began to slide, while the Federal Reserve was debating whether there was a real estate bubble six months after it burst.

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