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Japan lost its title as the world's largest creditor for the first time in 34 years, succumbing to Germany's strong trade performance. The Japanese Ministry of Finance shared data on the subject. According to the announced data, by the end of 2024, Japan's net foreign assets increased by 13 percent to 533.05 trillion yen ($3.7 trillion). Although this result was the highest so far, it was insufficient compared to Germany's net foreign assets of 569.7 trillion yen. China, which was announced to have 516.3 trillion yen trillion net foreign assets, was ranked third. The most important reason for Germany's strong performance is the current account surplus of 248.7 billion euros in 2024. In the same period, Japan's current account surplus was 29,4 trillion yen (approximately 180 billion euros).
Another important factor in the appreciation of Germany's net foreign assets against Japan was the 5 percent increase in the euro exchange rate last year.
Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato, who made a statement on the subject, stated that he was not disturbed by the situation and said, "Considering that Japan's net foreign assets have also increased steadily, this ranking alone should not be perceived as a sign that Japan's position has changed significantly.
