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It reduced the rating by one notch to AA minus, three levels below the highest possible rating and providing a sharp reminder to other developed nations, such as those in Europe and the United States, of the growing concerns about the debt built up during the global financial crisis.

Politicians and credit ratings agencies have been warning for years that Japan needs to lower its public debt pile, by far the worst among rich nations at double the size of its $5 trillion economy, but progress has proved elusive.

Julian Jessop, chief international economist at Capital Economics in London, warned of the consequences if Tokyo failed to get its fiscal house in order.

"If it looks like making a mess of this, further downgrades will surely follow. Given the size of Japan's economy and the current sensitivity of global financial markets to sovereign debt concerns, the impact would be felt worldwide."

The yen fell broadly and credit default swaps on Japan widened after the announcement, but markets in the past have not worried too much about the country's high debt because, for now, it is well serviced by ample domestic savings and few foreign investors hold Japanese government bonds (JGBs).

However, Japan's society is aging quickly, so social welfare costs will take up an increasing proportion of the budget in the absence of reforms, which S&P said reduces Japan's already weak fiscal flexibility.

S&P's downgrade leaves its credit rating on Japan one notch below both Fitch and Moody's.

"The downgrade reflects our appraisal that Japan's government debt ratios -- already among the highest for rated sovereigns -- will continue to rise further than we envisaged before the global economic recession hit the country and will peak only in the mid-2020s," S&P said in a statement.

"In our opinion, the Democratic Party of Japan-led government lacks a coherent strategy to address these negative aspects of the country's debt dynamics, in part due to the coalition having lost its majority in the upper house of parliament last summer."

Japan's government is well aware of its debt problem but, like governments before it, has struggled to tackle it head on. Just this month, Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano warned that the country faced a fiscal dead end. He said on Thursday the S&P move was regrettable.

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Prime Minister Naoto Kan is pushing for a debate on increasing the national sales tax, which at 5 percent is among the lowest among major economies, that he says is vital to pay for huge welfare costs.

Kan's key economic ministers have promised to impose fiscal discipline, something Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda reiterated in reaction to the S&P downgrade.

Still, the government is pressing ahead with a proposed budget from April with record spending of 92.4 trillion yen ($1 trillion) and new debt issuance that will exceed tax revenues for a second year in a row.