Baku, May 23 (AZERTAC). International rating agency Fitch Ratings downgraded the long-term issuer default rating of Japan in foreign currency to A + from AA, local - to A + from AA- , Outlooks - negative, according to a release from the agency. The country ceiling is lowered to AA + from AAA. The main factor was the revision of the high level of public debt of the country,

Standard & Poor's already lowered Japan's sovereign credit rating by one notch in January last year to AA- and Moody's followed suit in August with Aa3, both two notches higher than Korea.

"The downgrades and negative outlooks reflect growing risks for Japan's sovereign credit profile as a result of high and rising public debt ratios," Fitch said in a statement. "The country's fiscal consolidation plan looks leisurely, relative even to other fiscally challenged high-income countries, and implementation is subject to political risk."

According to Fitch, Japan's public debt is expected to rise to a whopping 239 percent of GDP by the end of this year, the highest projection among countries rated by Fitch and more than ailing Greece (153 percent), Italy (123 percent) and the U.S. (106 percent).

The Japanese yen sank on the announcement, down 0.5 percent against the U.S. dollar to 79.8 yen on the London foreign exchange market. But the Japanese public owns 95 percent of the country's public debt, reducing the potential impact of the credit downgrade, analysts said.