Tokyo, December 03, 2014 -- Moody's Japan K.K. has today announced rating actions on
Japanese corporates following the downgrade of the Government of Japan
("GoJ") rating to A1 -- with a stable outlook --
from Aa3.
Moody's has downgraded the ratings of the following five Japanese
corporates.
- Astellas Pharma Inc., downgraded to A1 from Aa3,
outlook stable
- Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, downgraded to A1
from Aa3, outlook stable
- FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, downgraded to A1 from Aa3,
outlook stable
- Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., downgraded
to A1 from Aa3, outlook stable
- Okinawa Electric Power Company, Incorporated, downgraded
to A1 from Aa3, outlook stable
Moody's has affirmed the ratings of the following four Japanese
corporates.
- Canon Inc., affirmed at Aa1, outlook stable
- Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. affirmed
at Aa3, outlook stable
- Central Japan Railway Company, affirmed at Aa3, outlook
stable
- Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., affirmed at Aa3,
outlook stable
Today's rating actions were solely prompted by Moody's decision
to downgrade the GoJ rating to A1 from Aa3.
Please see below for the issuers and the ratings that have been affected.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Ratings Rationale for Downgrade Actions
The below ratings were downgraded by one notch in each case, reflecting
the impact of the downgrade of the GoJ rating, on uplift contained
within each rating, pertaining to the Japan Support System.
The standalone credit profiles of these issuers were not directly affected
by the downgrade of the GoJ rating. Moody's corporate ratings in
Japan, however, account for the country's unusual system of
support for large and important organizations.
The ratings of the issuers listed below incorporated a 1-2 notch
uplift to their standalone credit profiles, without which their
ratings would have been lower.
The rating uplift reflected Moody's expectation of the strong support
system from major domestic banks and the government to the country's corporate
sectors, including these companies.
It is not common in Japan to raise a company's rating to a level higher
than the highest-rated support provider, which is the Government
of Japan. Given that the ratings of the Government of Japan and
the Japanese mega banks were downgraded, Moody's downgraded
the final ratings of the below issuers.
Below is a list of those entities whose ratings have been downgraded with
details of the rating actions.
Astellas Pharma Inc.
Long-term Issuer Rating: Downgraded to A1 from Aa3
Outlook: Stable
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
Long-term Issuer Rating: Downgraded to A1 from Aa3
Senior Unsecured Debt (Domestic / Foreign): Downgraded to A1 from
Aa3
Senior Unsecured Shelf (Domestic): Downgraded to (P)A1 from (P)Aa3
Outlook: Stable
FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation
Long-term Issuer Rating: Downgraded to A1 from Aa3
Outlook: Stable
Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd.
Senior Unsecured Debt (Domestic): Downgraded to A1 from Aa3
Senior Unsecured Shelf (Domestic): Downgraded to (P)A1 from (P)Aa3
Outlook: Stable
Okinawa Electric Power Company, Incorporated
Long-term Issuer Rating: Downgraded to A1 from Aa3
Senior Secured Debt (Domestic): Downgraded to A1 from Aa3
Outlook: Stable
Ratings Rationale for Affirmations
The below ratings were affirmed with stable outlooks reflecting their
strong to very strong standalone credit profiles. Canon and Shin-Etsu
also demonstrate high levels of insulation from the domestic economy combined
with strong liquidity and very low reliance on funding in the domestic
market.
The ratings of the companies below did not include any uplift for potential
support from either the government or the main banks, because the
companies' ratings were already higher than those of its potential support
providers. As a result, Moody's assessed the fundamental
credit of these companies and affirmed the ratings.
Below is a list of those entities whose ratings have been affirmed with
details of the rating actions.
Canon Inc.
Long-term Issuer Rating: Affirmed at Aa1
Outlook: Stable
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
Long-term Issuer Rating: Affirmed at Aa3
Outlook: Stable
Central Japan Railway Company
Long-term Issuer Rating: Affirmed at Aa3
Senior Unsecured Debt (Domestic): Affirmed at Aa3
Senior Unsecured Shelf (Domestic): Affirmed at (P)Aa3
Outlook: Stable
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
Senior Unsecured Debt (Domestic): Affirmed at Aa3
Outlook: Stable
The principal methodology used in rating Astellas Pharma Inc. was
Global Pharmaceutical Industry (Japanese) published in May 2013.
The principal methodology used in rating Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
Limited was Global Pharmaceutical Industry (Japanese) published in May
2013. The principal methodology used in rating FUJIFILM Holdings
Corporation was Global Manufacturing Companies (Japanese) published in
August 2014. The principal methodology used in rating Seven &
i Holdings Co., Ltd. was Global Retail Industry (Japanese)
published in August 2011. The principal methodology used in rating
Okinawa Electric Power Company, Incorporated was Regulated Electric
and Gas Utilities (Japanese) published in February 2014. The principal
methodology used in rating Canon Inc. was Global Manufacturing
Companies (Japanese) published in August 2014. The principal methodology
used in rating Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
was Global Chemical Industry Rating Methodology (Japanese) published in
May 2014. The principal methodology used in rating Central Japan
Railway Company was Global Passenger Railway Companies (Japanese) published
in April 2013. The principal methodology used in rating Tokyo Gas
Co., Ltd. was Regulated Electric and Gas Utilities
(Japanese) published in February 2014. Please see the Credit Policy
page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this rating action, the
associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
The below contact information is provided for information purposes only.
Please see the ratings tab of the issuer page at www.moodys.com,
for each of the ratings covered, Moody's disclosures on the
lead analyst and the Moody's legal entity that has issued the ratings.
Moody's Japan K.K. is a credit rating agency registered
with the Japan Financial Services Agency and its registration number is
FSA Commissioner (Ratings) No. 2. The Financial Services
Agency has not imposed any supervisory measures on Moody's Japan K.K.
in the past year.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Mariko Semetko
Asst Vice President - Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Japan K.K.
Atago Green Hills Mori Tower 20fl
2-5-1 Atago, Minato-ku
Tokyo 105-6220
Japan
JOURNALISTS: 813-5408-4110
SUBSCRIBERS: 813-5408-4100
Ian Lewis
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 813-5408-4110
SUBSCRIBERS: 813-5408-4100
Releasing Office:
Moody's Japan K.K.
Atago Green Hills Mori Tower 20fl
2-5-1 Atago, Minato-ku
Tokyo 105-6220
Japan
JOURNALISTS: 813-5408-4110
SUBSCRIBERS: 813-5408-4100
Moody's announces rating actions on Japanese corporates following sovereign downgrade