JAPAN: Japan is estimated to have retained...

JAPAN: Japan is estimated to have retained its position as the world’s largest creditor nation in 1990, the Ministry of Finance said. Its net overseas holdings--the difference between its assets and debts abroad--reached a record $328.1 billion, up 11.9% from the previous record of $293.2 billion in 1989. Close on Japan’s heels was the former West Germany, believed to have had holdings close to Japan’s $328 billion at the end of 1990, the ministry said. Japan has been the top creditor nation since 1985, when it had net foreign assets of $129 billion.