Japan's reserve assets totaled $1,179,119 million at the end of October 2026, up $723 million from the end of September, the Ministry of Finance said in its monthly international reserves and foreign currency liquidity release dated November 9.
The monthly rise is small against the stock. The ministry's release gives the level and composition but does not split the $723 million between purchases, sales and valuation changes. It notes that securities and gold reflect marked-to-market values, and that non-dollar assets are valued at current market exchange rates.
What the reserves are made of
Foreign currency reserves account for $985,228 million. Of that, securities are $834,555 million and deposits are $150,673 million, almost all of them ($150,248 million) with foreign central banks and the Bank for International Settlements. Deposits with banks headquartered in Japan are $400 million.
The rest of the official reserve total is made up of gold, SDRs, the IMF reserve position and other reserve assets. Gold is $106,437 million, for a volume of 27.20 million fine troy ounces.
| Component | US$ millions |
|---|---|
| Securities | 834,555 |
| Deposits | 150,673 |
| Foreign currency reserves (total) | 985,228 |
| Gold (27.20 million fine troy ounces) | 106,437 |
| SDRs | 60,627 |
| Other reserve assets | 15,660 |
| IMF reserve position | 11,167 |
| Official reserve assets (total) | 1,179,119 |
Separately, the ministry lists $36,759 million of other foreign currency assets outside the official reserve total. Its note says these include loans to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation totaling $36,390 million.
Short-term drains
The liquidity section shows aggregate long positions in forwards and futures in foreign currencies against the yen of $20,000 million. By residual maturity, $2,000 million falls due within a month, $9,000 million falls between one and three months, and $9,000 million falls between three months and a year. Short positions are shown as nil.
Contingent liabilities are shown as -$10,250 million, all collateral guarantees on debt falling due within a year: -$1,800 million up to one month, -$500 million from one to three months and -$7,950 million from three months to a year. Undrawn credit lines and options positions are all blank.
The release covers the monetary authorities and other central government, excluding social security.
See also: Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage.