It has a nickname that would turn most customers off.
But as the Industrial Revitalization Corp. moves closer to its grand opening next month, officials of the government-backed corporation tasked with turning around troubled businesses are trying hard to play down its hardline image, saying it will not preside over ailing firms as "the Lord of Hell."
The nickname, dreamed up by Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa, does not reflect the real mission of the IRC, according to Atsushi Saito, a 63-year-old former executive of Nomura Securities Co. and the prospective president of the IRC.