Fitch downgrades Japan to A+, outlook negative

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch)
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday downgraded Japan to A+ and issued a negative outlook on the country's credit rating, citing rising public debt levels
Japan's long-term foreign rating had stood at AA and its local currency issuer default rating was previously at AA-.
"The downgrades and negative outlooks reflect growing risks for Japan's sovereign credit profile as a result of high and rising public debt ratios," said Andrew Colquhoun, head of Asia-Pacific sovereigns at Fitch, in a news release "The country's fiscal consolidation plan looks leisurely relative even to other fiscally-challenged high-income countries, and implementation is subject to political risk," he said