Tokyo, March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he won't let a financial crisis happen, and also that he won't take any ``unusual'' measures to bolster stock prices. ``We won't take any unusual measures, but we will take steps to prevent any financial crisis from occurring even if there are emergency or unexpected situations,'' Koizumi told reporters at the Prime Minister's Office. Koizumi also said he has ordered Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Heizo Takenaka, who is also financial services minister, to take appropriate actions if necessary.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average yesterday fell to a 20-year low, threatening to erode the capital that banks and insurance companies need to stay in business. The index fell as much as 2.1 percent further today, trading at 7892.06, or down 1.9 percent, as of 2:02 p.m. in Tokyo. Koizumi referred to ``unusual measures'' when asked by a reporter about the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's suggestion that the mandatory enforcement of the market-value accounting system be frozen in an attempt to bolster the stock market. The yen was at 116.89 to the U.S. dollar at 2:08 p.m. in Tokyo, compared with 116.84 late yesterday in New York. /www.quote.bloomberg.com/