UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. -- One sleepless night after the government's decision to nationalize Ashikaga Bank, senior executives at manufacturer Rheon Automatic Machinery Co. held an emergency meeting Sunday at its headquarters to assess the damage.

Some 230 million yen in Rheon's assets had vanished overnight, when Ashikaga shares turned into so many worthless slips of paper. The loss is equivalent to more than two-thirds of the firm's projected 300 million yen profit for the full year.

"I don't believe this," muttered one executive for the sixth time in 10 minutes.