A recent nationwide flurry of collapsing credit unions and "shinkin" credit associations was accompanied by a total lack of panic.

In Tochigi Prefecture, which saw the failure of four credit unions and Utsunomiya Shinkin Bank, there were no lines of customers screaming for their deposits.

"We expected worse, much worse," said Hiroyuki Ogaki, an official of the business advisory section at the Utsunomiya Chamber of Commerce and Industry.