On Thursday the International Monetary Fund said that Japan does not need financial help, and that the country has the means to get through this disaster and recover. Of course, until the full extent of the damage is known, perhaps we shouldn’t be so final.
"We do believe that what the Japanese government has been doing on the monetary side to ensure stability of their financial system and doing what is necessary to meet the needs of the people of this crisis is the appropriate policy," she said.
On Monday, the Bank of Japan injected $180 billion into its financial system to shore up the economy to weather the lasting effects of the earthquake, tsunami and possible nuclear disaster.
In the short term, Japan needs to focus on search and rescue, humanitarian and infrastructure demands, the IMF spokesman said. And the IMF considers Japan on strong footing to handle that without financial help.
"It's a strong and wealthy society, and the government has the full financial resources to address those needs," Atkinson said.
