I really enjoyed Ulrike Schaede's piece to find out that I'm not the only one
baffled by the financial crisis (and I call myself a political economist!)

Honestly, (1) can any one can tell me how bad is it, really?

(2) Can anyone tell me (to quote Prof. Schaede's "puzzle") "why everybody [is]
not running to her or his bank to get the Yen out? Part of the answer is that
the big city banks still look OK. More importantly, however, the public
miraculously still seems to believe in MOF...... "? On the other hand, I know
why I'm not pulling my money out. No one in Japan seems to be worried, even if I
sweat every time I read the Economist or Financial Times. But then what else can
I do, not use a bank?

(3) Finally, and most importantly, as a political scientist, I would like to
know whether the politics (broadly defined) of crisis management is making it
any worse, or is there nothing politics can do about it (but to pacify
anxieties)?

Nobuhiro Hiwatari

[Moderator's Note: My apologies to Professor Schaede for inadvertently removing
a disclaimer from her post of 09/11. Her views concerning banking are her own
and not those of any organization she is affiliated with. Also, Professor
Schaede's correct e-mail address is ].