Japan’s FY 2022 forex account surplus of 3.5 tril. yen beats estimate

Japan had a larger-than-estimated surplus of 3.48 trillion yen ($25 billion) in its special account for forex funds in fiscal 2022, helped by a weak yen that boosted earnings from assets such as U.S. Treasurys, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

The government is yet to decide what to do with the surplus, around 641 billion yen more than the government’s initial estimate. It could be used to cover an expected sharp increase in defense spending, which would prompt calls for plans to increase taxes to be delayed.

The special account is destined for purposes such as currency interventions and the ...