-2-  More than a decade ago, U.S. banking organizations faced a different crisis, in which their structural weaknesses catalyzed and compounded the ongoing stress. Twelve years of work—by Congress, financial institutions, and the regulatory agencies—went toward ensuring that this dynamic would not occur again.
In Japan, two rounds of consumption tax hikes are scheduled. Based on the experience of the economy going into recession when consumption tax was raised last time, in 1997, there are some concerns that the same might happen again. However, looking at the economic conditions of that time, the economic growth rate plunged immediately after the tax hike but subsequently showed signs of recovery.