Tokyo, May 29 (BridgeNews) - The amount of bad loans on the balance sheets of Japan's major banks did not decrease as much as hoped but progress is being made, Minister for Financial Services Hakuo Yanagisawa said. The balance of bad loans held by Japan's four new financial groups and top five independent banks totaled 18.03 trillion yen at the end of March 2001, up from 17.98 trillion yen at the end of March 2000. Banks said new bad loans emerged on their balance sheets due to continued bankruptcies and falling land prices that undermined the value of collateral.