Japan loses status as world's top creditor for 1st time in 34 years

Japan lost its status as the world's top creditor for the first time in 34 years, overtaken by Germany, even as its net external assets rose to a record high, partly due to a weaker yen, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.Japan's gross external assets increased 12.9 percent from a year earlier to 533.05 trillion yen ($3.7 trillion) as of the end of last year, topping 500 trillion yen for the first time, but the total was below Germany's 569.65 trillion yen.The yen's depreciation boosted the value of Japan's foreign-currency assets, including stocks, bonds and other holdings, when converted i…READ FULL ARTICLE