Stock prices, after exceeding 19,000 yen at the beginning of 2000, weakened to around 18,000-18,500 yen following the correction in the U.S. stock market. Subsequently, they recovered reacting to the rebound in U.S. stocks and have returned to the level of above 19,000 yen.
The crucial word is “offer”; the banks continued to make token offers to buy and sell liquid funds, but those offers were deliberately set at unrealistic levels, for reasons that are obvious, if you think about it. I like old cars, and I own a version of the original Mini, built by the British Leyland Company.