IMF Warns Japan Debt Could "Quickly Become Unsustainable"

Japan has the largest public debt in the world. Please see my previous post, Next Victim Of Debt Crisis are France and Japan, which has a video from legendary hedge fund manager Kyle Bass and hear what he has to say about the danger Japan presents to the global economy.

Now, the International Monetery Fund is raising the red flag about Japan. Please see the Wall Street Journal article:

The International Monetary Fund warned in a new report that market concerns over fiscal sustainability could trigger a "sudden spike" in Japanese government bond yields that could "quickly" render the nation's debt unsustainable as well as shake the global economy.

The fund's Japan Sustainability Report, released on its Web site Nov. 23, serves as a fresh reminder to Tokyo policymakers that the international community is already worried about fallouts from Japan's potential fiscal problems, after debt problems in some European economies evolved into a continent-wide crisis.

Japan's public liabilities amount to roughly twice annual economic output--a ratio worse than any other industrialized economies,' including a turmoil-hit Spain or Italy. Japanese finance ministry bureaucrats worry that something may happen to tip Japan into a fiscal chaos, but the government is slow to move amid political reluctance to lift taxes, particularly after the March 11 earthquake.