Japan and Nordic countries to boost IMF firewall

The Japanese government late on Tuesday said it will add an estimated $60bn of funding to the IMF to help bolster its firewall, its finance minister Jun Azumi said.

Japan believes the injection will prevent the European sovereign debt crisis from dragging down other economies across the globe and shield it from a deepening crisis.

The Swedish government followed suit and promised an additional $10bn, while Denmark pledged an extra $7bn to the cause, bringing the total combined funds to $77bn from the three countries.

The IMF is seeking an added $600bn to uphold global economic stability but has so far only received $200bn.