Japan's reserve assets totaled $1,178,396 million at the end of September 2026, down $29,128 million from the end of August, the Ministry of Finance said on October 7. The release gives no reason for the decline.
What the reserves hold
Foreign currency reserves, the largest block, stood at $976,913 million. Within that, securities accounted for $821,691 million and deposits for $155,222 million. Almost all of the deposits, $154,794 million, sit with foreign central banks and the Bank for International Settlements. Deposits at banks headquartered in Japan were $403 million, and at banks headquartered outside Japan $25 million.
Gold was valued at $113,592 million, for a volume of 27.20 million fine troy ounces. The ministry's notes say securities and gold reflect marked-to-market values, and that non-dollar assets are valued at current market exchange rates.
| Component | US$ millions |
|---|---|
| Official reserve assets (total) | 1,178,396 |
| Foreign currency reserves | 976,913 |
| of which securities | 821,691 |
| of which deposits | 155,222 |
| IMF reserve position | 11,344 |
| SDRs | 60,783 |
| Gold (27.20 million fine troy ounces) | 113,592 |
| Other reserve assets | 15,764 |
Beyond the headline total
The ministry reports a separate line of other foreign currency assets, outside the official reserve total, of $35,110 million. Of that, $34,817 million is loans to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
The liquidity template also lists predetermined short-term net drains. These are long positions in forwards and futures in foreign currencies against the yen, totaling $20,000 million: $6,000 million due within one month, $5,000 million between one and three months, and $9,000 million between three months and a year. No short positions are reported.
Contingent short-term drains are shown as collateral guarantees on debt falling due within a year, at -$11,150 million in total. The maturity split is -$1,400 million within one month, -$1,800 million between one and three months, and -$7,950 million between three months and a year. Undrawn credit lines, options positions and other contingent liabilities are all reported as nil.
Among memo items, securities lent and on repo total $5,136 million, and net marked-to-market financial derivative assets are -$37 million, all in swaps.
This edition reports a $29,128 million fall in the headline total, and the release gives no breakdown of how much came from valuation changes and how much from other factors.