Japan: The New King of US Debt

According to the Treasury Department, Japan passed China in February of 2015 to become the largest foreign holder of US debt. This is the first time that Japan has been the world's largest foreign holder of US debt since August of 2008.

Both Japan and China trimmed their holdings of US debt in February, with Japan moving from approximately $1.2386 trillion to $1.2244 trillion. China, on the other hand, trimmed their holdings from $1.2391 trillion down to $1.2237 trillion.

Over the past year, Japan has seen their holdings of US debt increase slightly from $1.2108 trillion to $1.2244 trillion, while China has trimmed their holdings from $1.2729 trillion to $1.2237 trillion.

Foreign holders of US debt trimmed their holdings as a whole in February, taking their positions down to $4.0862 trillion from $4.1243 trillion.

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The top 10 foreign holders of US debt as of February 2015 were:

Japan, $1.2244 trillion
China, $1.2237 trillion
Caribbean Banking Centers, $350.6 billion
Belgium, $345.3 billion
Oil Exporters, $296.8 billion
Brazil, $259.9 billion
Switzerland, $201.7 billion
United Kingdom, $192.3 billion
Luxembourg, $179.2 billion
Hong Kong, $175.4 billion

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With deficits in the United States forecast to increase in the years ahead, the country hopes that foreign investors maintain their healthy appetite for US debt.

Source: Treasury.gov - Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities

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