11.   Agricultural cooperatives are the largest creditors of the seven insolvent housing lenders.

12.   Agricultural cooperatives, the largest creditors for the housing lenders, should also participate in discussions about how to deal with the debts.

13.   But the politically powerful agricultural cooperatives are in far more critical shape.

14.   Commercial banks, insurers, brokerages and agricultural cooperatives, as well as taxpayers, contributed money to liquidate the lenders.

15.   Experts say some of agricultural cooperatives may fail if they write off all their bad loans.

16.   Executives of agricultural cooperatives should take responsibility for their loans to the housing lenders, Hashimoto said.

17.   Growers like Martella are members of Tri Valley, an agricultural cooperative that buys fruits from them and then processes and cans them.

18.   Hashimoto said he believes the government decided to use public funds to save agricultural cooperatives from bankruptcy.

19.   Hasuhisa Shiozaki, a Liberal Democratic member of Parliament, acknowledged that there might be some fallout among the agricultural cooperatives but said overall it would not be fatal.

20.   He dreamed of an agricultural cooperative where Italian immigrant workers could earn shares in the wine business and start their own vineyards.