Biting back at loan sharks


TOKYO: Shocked by the suicide of three debtors last month, Japan is rushing through a Bill aimed at clamping down on loan sharks who are pushing increasing numbers of the recession-hit population into a debt trap. 

Victim support groups estimate there are up to 60,000 unregistered lenders are operating in Japan, many of them gangster-related, while more than a million people are thought to have become victims of their unscrupulous tactics. 

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