Does Japan's example of not bailing out the banking fat cats in their time of crisis an example for us?

Yes! As I recall Japanese business and government had been working hand in glove for years and years; there was a lot of institutional corruption, conflicts of interest and informal, behind-the-scenes bailouts. I don't know why the government didn't bail out the bankers in the 1993 crisis. Was it because of populist sentiment? If so, their example is absolutely on point.