JAPAN

Government May Have to Finance Debt: Japan may have to go into debt to finance a government budget deficit this year because the country’s economic slump has reduced corporate tax receipts, economists said. Such a move would require the Japanese Ministry of Finance to swallow its own words after saying repeatedly that it will not issue bonds to finance government operations. Economists estimate that revenue in the current fiscal year will be up to $40 billion short of a targeted $508 billon as a result of lower corporate tax receipts.