Fitch Ratings downgraded Japan’s credit rating on Monday to A from A+, concluding that the country’s budget for the fiscal year that began April 1 lacked sufficient fiscal measures to make up for the government’s decision late last year to defer a consumption tax increase.
Fitch said the outlook for the country’s rating is stable.
An announcement on Fitch’s website said the ratings agency has downgraded its ratings on Japan’s long-term foreign and local currency issuer default rates, as well as its senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds to A from A+.
Fitch had put Japan’s ratings on negative watch in December, after the government’s decision to delay a scheduled consumption tax hike.
