Japanese Outraged By Plans For Bailout

The government set off a storm of criticism Tuesday by announcing a nearly $7 billion taxpayer bailout of housing lenders drowning in bad loans.

Commentators almost universally denounced the plan, and a worried Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama called a midnight press conference to say he was “truly sorry” to ask for public money.

The government’s move was the first step in a long-delayed cleanup of Japan’s banking woes and there are expectations of mounting expenses.

The rescue plan announced Tuesday amounts to about 5,500 yen, approximately $55, for each of Japan’s 124 million people.