With Tokyo stocks plunging and the yen surging against the dollar, the financial crisis born in the United States can no longer be regarded as just a problem on the other side of the ocean.
Economists are predicting that the Japanese themselves will be asked to share a huge burden with the rest of the world in the months to come.
Japan may be asked to help the U.S. with public funds as it moves to recapitalize its crumbling financial institutions, said Shinichi Ichikawa, a strategist at Credit Suisse in Tokyo.