Lighter Economic Downturn for Japan

How could it have been possible for Japan to have experienced a lighter economic crisis in the 1990s? I'm looking for a small POD that will alter the world from OTL as little as possible, save for the economy of Japan. I'm not looking for a stop to the economic crisis, just something to slow it down by a few years.
 
Quicker and more decisive action by the state, the central bank and finance ministry waited years. They were too slow in recapitalizing the banks (look at Sweden in the 1990s) and perhaps you might want to look into avoiding deflation. There are lots of excellent sources out there especially since the economic crisis.
 

Rush Tarquin

Gone Fishin'
If you could somehow get the Japanese post privatised it might do it. It's strangely far and away the largest financial institution in Japan (Japanese essentially use it for their personal savings). Of course for that very reason it's privatisation is probably ASB.
 
Top