TOKYO (March 23): HE must have been asked the same question a thousand times, but Kenji Yoshida, president of Okayama's Sanyo Sogo Bank, still waxed philosophical on the subject of why he has decided to rename his bank the 'Tomato Bank'.
'Tomatoes are bright, delicious and popular and that is what I want my bank to be,' says Mr Yoshida.
Mr Yoshida admits his wife and daughter - not to mention the odd colleague - were sceptical about the relevance of the name to a financial institution which is facing one of the most trying periods in its 58-year history.
Last month, in common with a number of other sogo, or mutual banks, Sanyo Sogo bank discarded its mutual status and assumed the rights and responsibilities of a fully fledged regional bank - a goal which had been sought by many sogos, and dreaded many others.
Says Mr Yoshida: 'some of my colleagues objected to the tomato image because a tomato is easily crushed under somebody else's heel.'