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Fortune
Fortune
Christiaan Hetzner

Japan prepared to use its role as America’s largest creditor as leverage in Trump trade talks

Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru attends a join press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured) at the premier's office in Tokyo on April 9, 2025. (Credit: David Mareuil—AFP/Getty Images)
  • No country holds more provable Treasury debt than Japan with roughly $1.1 trillion, equivalent to a quarter of its entire economy. Since dumping U.S. sovereign bonds would severely hurt both Japan and the United States, investors view the threat as a psychological tactic to exert pressure as the clock ticks down on Trump’s 90-day tariff pause.

Call it the nuclear option—a last resort that could unleash mutually assured financial destruction for two allies joined at the hip. Japan is prepared to use its role as America’s single largest creditor as a bargaining chip in ongoing trade negotiations with the Trump administration.

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