TOKYO: Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato says the country won’t use the sale of its US Treasury holdings in trade talks with Washington, clarifying his previous remarks that suggested they could be used as a negotiating tool.
“We are not considering the sale of US treasuries as a means of Japan-US negotiations,” Kato said in Milan, Italy, on Sunday, where he was attending the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank.
Kato’s latest comments came after he was asked to clarify remarks he made last Friday, when he said Japan’s US treasury holdings could serve as a negotiation tool in trade talks with Washington.
“It does exist as a card,” Kato said at the time, adding “whether or not we use that card is a different decision”.
Japan held roughly US$1.13 trillion in treasury securities at the end of February, making it the biggest overseas holder of the US debt. — Bloomberg
