Invest: Japan expert: "The USA need money from Japan"

Japan is one of the world's largest creditors, particularly in the United States, where vast amounts of capital from the world's fourth-largest economy are invested. Now that interest rates are rising in Japan, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fears that Japanese investors may be withdrawing their money from US bonds and reinvesting it in their home country.

To prevent this, he wants the Japanese to strengthen the Yen. Sönke Siemßen doubts in the Handelsblatt Invest podcast whether a strong Japanese currency would truly help the Americans. On the contrary, he says: "The United States relies on money from Japan, and a weaker Yen would be supportive." The portfolio manager of the asset management of the Japanese giant bank Nomura adds that a weak Japanese currency would make exports to the United States more favorable, potentially helping to lower the inflation there as well.

And the US government needs low inflation more than anything else at this time, given the interim elections in November.