NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's Corp. said Thursday it had lowered its long-term local and foreign currency credit ratings on Japan from AAA to AA plus.
The downgrades reflect the Japanese government's "diminished fiscal flexibility, its rising debt levels and its protracted approach to structural reform," the U.S. credit rating agency said.
S&P affirmed Japan's A-1+ short-term local and foreign currency sovereign credit ratings, however, and said the outlook remains stable.