Takaichi says she will maximize Japan's interests through dialogue with China

The stimulus plan has spurred a selloff of the yen and Japanese government bonds on expectations that the nation's fiscal health, already the worst among advanced economies with debt over twice the size of the economy, could further deteriorate. At the Wednesday session, Noda was allotted the longest time to question Takaichi, followed by other opposition leaders, Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People, Tetsuo Saito of the Komeito party and Sohei Kamiya of the Sanseito party. Japan, as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, remains committed to the non-nuclear arms principles, though the third principle is feared to weaken the effectiveness of the nuclear deterrence provided by its ally, the United States.