Fitch: Japan A rating affirmed, outlook stable

Fitch Ratings have affirmed Japan at 'A'; outlook stable

• Affirmed Japan's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (idr) at 'a' with a stable outlook
• a high domestic savings rate and home investor bias contribute to economy's external resilience
• economy's intrinsic financial strengths could erode over time in absence of reforms to boost potential growth, address public debt burden
• Japan's ratings balance strengths of advanced and wealthy economy, with high governance standards and strong public institutions
• spillovers from trade tensions between US and China are also a risk, as are tensions on Korean peninsula
• trade protectionism poses downside risk to outlook, exemplified by imposition of a 25% tariff on US imports of steel and aluminium