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Japan's US Treasury Holdings

Japan is the largest foreign holder of US Treasuries. If the yen falls too far, Tokyo can sell Treasuries and buy yen to defend its currency. This is the size of those holdings, monthly, from the US Treasury TIC report.

The Stockpile, Month by Month

Market value of Japan's US Treasury holdings, monthly. The line moves when Japan trades and when bond prices move. The data cannot separate the two.

Japan's Holdings of US Treasuries

Source: FRED FORTREASPOS42609 and FORLTEQTYPOS42609 — US Treasury TIC, Japanese holdings of US Treasury and equity securities, monthly • Latest: Jul 1, 2026 (lagged ~60 days) • The last ten years

FAR BELOW PEAK

Japan's Treasury holdings, USD billions

1,103.90▼ 12.80 (1.15%) vs prevJul 1, 2026

The peak came in Nov 1, 2021 at $1.33tn. The decline since then runs alongside a rise in Treasury yields — which mechanically shrinks the market value of an untouched portfolio — so treat the slope as an upper bound on selling, not a measure of it. What is not ambiguous is the level: Japan still holds $1.10tn of US Treasuries, the largest foreign position in the market everything else is priced off.

How to Read This Chart

The TIC report publishes the market value of Japan's holdings, not its trades. When Treasury yields rise, an untouched portfolio is worth less, so part of any fall from the peak is price decline and part may be real selling. The data cannot separate the two. Holdings also lag the market by about 2 months (60 days), so the latest figure (Jul 1, 2026) shows the position then, not today.

What the series does show is the size of the position: over a trillion dollars, the largest foreign holding of US Treasuries. Japan holds it to defend the yen. If the yen falls too far, Tokyo can sell Treasuries and buy yen. Japan also holds over a trillion dollars of US stocks, so a broad sale would reach the stock market directly.

A large sale pushes Treasury yields up, and every asset priced off the Treasury curve reprices with them. The trigger, the yen, and the 10-year yield are tracked on the treasury dump page. The cost of carrying the debt is on the interest costs page.

Explore Related Charts

Treasury Dump

The parent risk page — the holdings with the yen and the 10-year yield alongside

US Federal Interest Costs

The other side of the Treasury market — what the US pays to carry its debt

Risks — What Could Crash the Market

The section hub — external shocks that reprice US equities, tracked with live data

Holdings data sourced as noted above. For educational purposes only. Not investment advice.