Out of the ruins

摘要

Five months after a tsunami and nuclear meltdown assailed Japan, the economy has been pummelled by fresh blows. Share prices have followed global stock-markets down, with the Nikkei 225 index revisiting its nadir in the days after the earthquake in March. As if the fears about a global slowdown that have depressed equity investors were not enough, the yen has been soaring, which will hurt Japanese exporters. Adding to the pain, Moody's, a credit-rating agency, downgraded Japan's debt rating one notch to Aa3 on August 24th because of its huge public debt and chaotic politics.