Japan · Net International Investment Position, % of GDP (IMF)

## What this measures

Japan's net international investment position (the stock of external financial assets minus external liabilities) at the end of each year, as a percent of that year's GDP in US dollars.

## Why it matters

The stock behind the current account: a large negative position means a country depends on foreign investors keeping their money in place, which is where currency crises start.

## How to read it

Positive means the country is a net creditor to the rest of the world; negative a net debtor. Valuation (asset prices and exchange rates) moves it as much as new borrowing.

## What it does not say

Positions are partly at market value, so a stock-market rally abroad or at home moves the number. Some financial centers report very large gross positions that net to little.

## Source

International Monetary Fund, International Investment Position (IIP), with GDP from the World Economic Outlook, read from the IMF data API (api.imf.org, dataflow IMF.STA/IIP and IMF.RES/WEO). https://data.imf.org/ Attribution: Source: International Monetary Fund. Transformations by Palanor where stated. Transformation by Palanor: the net position in US dollars (IIP) divided by GDP in US dollars for the same year from the newest World Economic Outlook, times 100. The IMF does not publish this ratio in the IIP dataset. IMF data is available free of charge from the IMF. Use follows the IMF Copyright and Usage terms, Special Terms for Statistical Data (imf.org/en/About/copyright-and-terms).