It should also give them an edge over foreign rivals.

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Locals can hope to hold one advantage over specialized foreign rivals: a better feel for the country's still-murky legal system.

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Foreign banks, which have steered clear of buying Japanese rivals for fear of taking over undisclosed debts, would be more willing to put new capital into the system.

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There is ferment in U.S. academia over whether University Inc. is just one more fat, inefficient, overpriced sector waiting to be plucked by foreign rivals.

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