According to ChainCatcher and Reuters, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Kato denied claims in Milan that Japan plans to use the sale of over $1 trillion in US Treasury bonds as a threat in trade negotiations. Two days earlier, Kato had hinted in a television interview that US bond holdings could be used as a negotiating chip, causing a brief shock in the global bond market.
Kato explained that his previous remarks were in response to questions about whether Japan could assure Washington that it would not easily sell US bonds, emphasizing that the main purpose of holding US Treasury bonds is to provide the government with sufficient foreign exchange to stabilize the yen if necessary. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan maintained its short-term interest rate at 0.5%, and Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that the timeline for achieving the 2% inflation target has been delayed due to new US tariffs.
