Japan steps back from ?fiscal cliff?

After weeks of deadlock, the Japanese Government passed a crucial deficit-financing Bill today, narrowly avoiding a ?fiscal cliff?.

In return for opposition support, Yoshihiko Noda, the Prime Minister, dissolved parliament to prepare for a general election on December 16. The dismal state of the Japanese economy is likely to dominate the party campaigns.

The increasing precariousness of the national finances was confirmed today when the Government revised its assessment of the economy downwards for the fourth successive month, blaming the ?deceleration of the world economy?.

This comes after a recent barrage of disappointing economic data, culminating this week in the

Source: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/markets/japan/article3602281.ece

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