Fitch affirmed Japan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘A’ with a “negative” outlook. The ratings “balance the strengths of an advanced and wealthy economy, with correspondingly robust governance standards and public institutions, against weak medium-term growth prospects and very high public debt”. The negative outlook reflected “uncertainty about the medium-term macroeconomic and fiscal outlook from the continuing pandemic”.
The rating agency expects economic growth of 22.5% in 2021 and 3.0% in 2022. But risks are to the downside, as the ongoing fifth Covid-19 wave may further delay recovery. Inflation is likely to “remain subdued”, averaging 0.3% in 2021 and 0.7% in 2022. Fitch also said BoJ is likely to maintain its current monetary policy settings over the “next few years”.
