Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's controversial reappointment Monday of Heizo Takenaka as financial services minister means banks will still be under pressure to clean up their bad loans.
That is good news for Takenaka's supporters, including the U.S. government, and bad news for bankers and critics of reform such as the Liberal Democratic Party's old guard.
Whether tough action will follow Takenaka's tough talk is another story.