Japan ready to inject funds into major banks: minister

TOKYO: Japan is ready to inject public funds into big or small banks if they fall victim to the credit crunch, the country's economic and fiscal policy minister said Tuesday.

"The government will inject capital so that financing for small- and mid-sized companies does not deteriorate," Kaoru Yosano told reporters. "I see no reason to draw a line between big and regional banks."

Japanese lawmakers are considering reviving a law that would lay the groundwork for capital injections for regional banks if they experience financial difficulties due to the global credit crunch.

Japanese banks have not been as severely hit by the global financial crisis as many of their Western peers. But Japan, which has the world's second biggest economy, has stepped up its efforts to shore up the financial system following a recent plunge on the Tokyo stock market and the collapse of a mid-sized life insurer.

Foreign governments have injected billions of dollars into banks to prevent their collapse amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.