New Zealand targets shadow fleet in expanded Russia sanctions
New Zealand announced on Thursday that it would broaden sanctions against Russia’s oil sector and its so-called shadow fleet, during a meeting with ...
Japan has lost its decades long status as the global top creditor to Germany. A recent report suggests that a weakening yen, appreciating euro and American tariffs are responsible.
The Bloomberg report details that in 2024, Germany overtook Japan as the world’s top creditor, with the euro appreciating by around 5% against the yen. Germany’s rise is attributed to strong trade performance and a weaker Japanese currency. In real terms, Germany’s current account surplus reached 248.7 billion euros last year, compared to Japan’s 180 billion euros (29.4 trillion yen).
For Japan, a weak yen helped increase both foreign assets and liabilities. However, assets grew more rapidly. This is credited to Japanese companies investing more abroad, notably in the United Kingdom and the United States. According to Japan’s Ministry of Finance, industries such as finance, insurance, and retail played a major role.
The report also finds that China is closing the gap on the world’s top two creditors, with its relative growth exceeding that of both Japan and Germany.
In international terms, a creditor country is one that holds more foreign assets than it owes to other countries, such as through investments, loans, or savings. A country can be classified as a creditor or a debtor based on its international financial balance.
Since 2021, the gap between Japan and Germany regarding creditor status has narrowed. Most recently, the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs may have affected Japan’s ability to maintain its lead. Experts suggest that companies are considering moving production or assets to the United States to reduce the impact of trade restrictions.
The shift may also signal that the euro is now seen as a more stable, reliable funding currency and safe-haven asset. Confidence in the U.S. dollar and bonds has weakened, opening the door for others to capture greater market share. However, Japan still holds the largest proportion of U.S. government bonds—worth $1.3 trillion.
Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato was quick to reassure companies and countries that Japan remains an important and successful creditor.
“Given that Japan’s net external assets have also been steadily increasing, the ranking alone should not be taken as a sign that Japan’s position has changed significantly,” Kato told reporters.
A small, silent object from another star is cutting through the Solar System. It’s real, not a film, and one scientist thinks it might be sending a message.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
New Zealand announced on Thursday that it would broaden sanctions against Russia’s oil sector and its so-called shadow fleet, during a meeting with the foreign ministers of the five Nordic countries in Stockholm.
Indonesian authorities are investigating food poisoning cases involving nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province this week, after students ate meals prepared under President Prabowo Subianto's key free school meal programme, an official said.
Britain said on Wednesday it had agreed to a deal with Vietnam to curb illegal migration in what it described as the strongest Hanoi had ever agreed with another country.
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, announced that he had ordered the Department of Defense to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing on an “equal footing” with other nuclear powers.
U.S. President Donald Trump met with China's leader Xi Jinping at a South Korean air base on Thursday for discussions on a possible trade war truce between the world's two largest economies.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment