Il Japan snubs Standard & Poor's. Tokyo Finance Minister Jun Azumi confirmed today that his country will continue to purchase bonds from the EFSF State-saving Fund despite the American agency has decided to cut its rating from the maximum rating (the longed-for triple A) to the level immediately below (AA+).
"I don't think this will immediately call into question the credibility of the EFSF obligations," explained the minister at a press conference.
S&P does not rule out raising the valuation if additional guarantees were to be provided. The agency's decision is the consequence of therating downgrade of France and Austria, which previously held triple A and with their guarantees allowed the Fund to benefit from the same rating.
Il Japan bought between 10 and 20% of the whole amount of the various EFSF issues in 2011: short, medium and long-term bonds intended to support countries in financial difficulty in the Eurozone. “There won't be an immediate change of our thinking about it,” Azumi reiterated.
