Worries about the sovereign debt crisis in Greece have disrupted stock and foreign exchange markets worldwide, threatening to throw cold water on the global economic recovery. The crisis could affect not only European nations but also the United States and fast-growing emerging economies.
A rise in the yen caused by the crisis — which has led to sharp falls in the euro — could damage Japanese enterprises that are improving their performances on the strength of exports. The Greek crisis is also a stern warning to Japan, whose government debt in terms of the percentage of gross domestic product is much higher than Greece's. The government and the Bank of Japan must take all necessary measures to prevent the economy, which is slowly recovering, from stalling again.
Greece's crisis surfaced when the new Greek government, which came to power in October 2009, disclosed that the nation's budget deficit, which the previous government reported as standing at about 3.8 percent of GDP, was actually more than 12 percent. As a euro-zone country, Greece is obligated to hold its annual budget deficit to below 3 percent of GDP. The deterioration of its state finances was caused by long years of a free-spending financial policy and the lowering of the availability of funds caused by the global financial crisis. On April 27, Standard & Poor's downgraded Greek debt to junk status, further making it difficult for Greece to borrow money in the bond market.