Japanese Bank Sells Headquarters

Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan Ltd. said Thursday that it sold its Tokyo headquarters building and the land it is built on to a real estate company, Chobuil Corp., for about $708 million.

The bank said it will post a profit of about $382 million from the sale. LTCB will lease the property from Chobuil, in which it holds a minority stake.

LTCB is at the center of political debate over whether to use taxpayer money to help clean up the Japanese banking industry’s mounting bad-debt problem. Earlier this week, two lending affiliates of the troubled LTCB filed for bankruptcy protection.

LTCB said the sale was part of its previously announced restructuring plan, which included the sale of assets.