Japan loses its position as world's largest creditor for first time in 34 years

Odaily Planet Daily News: Japan's Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday that Japan lost its position as the world's largest creditor for the first time in 34 years and was replaced by Germany, even though Japan's total external asset balance rose to a record high, partly due to the weakening yen. As of the end of last year, Japan's net external asset balance increased by 12.9% from the same period last year to 533.05 trillion yen (3.7 trillion US dollars), breaking through 500 trillion yen for the first time, but lower than Germany's 569.65 trillion yen. The Japanese Ministry of Finance said that the depreciation of the yen boosted Japan's foreign currency assets, including the value of stocks, bonds and other assets after conversion into local currency, and added that Germany benefited from a huge current account surplus. Japan's total external assets increased by 11.4% to 1,659.22 trillion yen, driven by direct investment in the United States by domestic financial institutions and trading companies. External liabilities increased by 10.7% to 1125.97 trillion yen. (Jinshi)