Bonds issued by the world's second biggest economy, Japan, have been downgraded by ratings agency Moody's Investors Service to the same level as those from Latvia and Poland.
Researchers at Moody's said the two notch downgrade was based on concerns over the Japanese government's capacity to reunite the country’s economy.
"The Japan government's current and anticipated economic policies will be insufficient to prevent continued deterioration in Japan's domestic problems," Moody's said.
Today’s report also highlighted the high levels of debt built up over years of trying to jump-start an economic revival via large-scale infrastructure projects
"Japan's general government indebtedness...will approach levels unprecedented in the post-war era in the developed world, and that as such Japan will be entering 'uncharted territory'."
The Moddy’s rating followed government data showing that 3.75 million Japanese workers were unemployed last month, an increase of 270,000 on the previous year.