Japan could use a wake-up call over its mountain of debt through credit rating firms warning of the potential for cuts to sovereign bond ratings, according to a government advisor.
"Recent fiscal policy has turned into a popularity contest," said Mana Nakazora, a credit analyst on an economic panel advising Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. "I’d rather that credit rating firms say that they’ll cut ratings" to warn authorities of risk, she said in an interview Monday.
Nakazora’s comments come as Ishiba seeks parliamentary approval for a ¥13.9 trillion ($92 billion) additional budget to fund his stimulus package. The package was marginally larger than the one in the previous year, when economic conditions were worse, and would require ¥6.69 trillion in additional bond issuance.
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