Since Japan is struggling to free itself from a banking crisis caused partly by widespread connected lending (thanks to the system of corporate groups known as keiretsu, today's variant on the zaibatsu), Mr Ochi's preferences seem most peculiar.
Michio Ochi, who heads the government commission charged with financial-sector reform, said it would slow down their write-offs of bad loans, and hamper their return to health (although the soft policies pursued by Mr Ochi himself are also often blamed for the banks' lingering malaise).