Business Notes Scandal

In a season of scandal among Japan's largest financial firms, an eccentric restaurateur from Osaka has managed to steal the show. Nui Onoue, 61, who claims she began playing the stock market in response to a "divine message," was accused last week of using forged certificates worth $2.5 billion to obtain loans from a host of banks and financial companies. Among the duped lenders was the prestigious Industrial Bank of Japan. By last October, Onoue had built up her portfolio to an estimated value of nearly $780 million and ranked as one of Japan's largest individual investors. But prosecutors speculate that the 39% plunge in Tokyo share prices last year forced Onoue to make a desperate move to cover her losses.