A new Christmas Carol (with apologies to Haruhiko Kuroda)

IT was the night before Christmas and old Scrooge sat shivering in his counting house next to the Bank of Japan. A single candle lighted his desk and also served to warm his hands as he counted out the money he made from loan-sharking operations and from squeezing his debtors mercilessly.

"Mr Scrooge, sir," asked his gaijin (foreign) clerk Bob Cratchit in a trembling voice, "might I possibly have tomorrow off to be with my family on Christmas Day?"

Scrooge scowled deeply.