Japan lost its global lead in net international assets in 2024, overtaken by Germany for the first time in 34 years, according to official data released on Tuesday.
The country's net global assets reached 533.05 trillion yen (about 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2024, up 12.9 percent from a year earlier and marking a record high for the sixth consecutive year, according to data from Japan's Ministry of Finance.
Net international assets represent the difference between a country's external assets and its external liabilities, including foreign investments and borrowings.
Japan's total external assets grew 11.4 percent from the previous year to 1,659.02 trillion yen, driven by a weaker yen that raised the value of foreign currency-denominated holdings.
The yen has depreciated by 11.7 percent from the end of 2023, with the exchange rate at 157.89 yen to the dollar.
External liabilities rose 10.7 percent to 1,125.97 trillion yen, increasing for the sixth consecutive year. Sectors including insurance, finance, wholesale and retail expanded their overseas investments during the period, the data showed.
Japan loses global lead in net foreign assets
Commemorations honoring Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs were held on the banks of the Yalu River in Dandong, Liaoning Province on Tuesday as part of ongoing tributes to those who fought in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953).
The event was held to mark the return of the remains of 12 CPV martyrs, who were killed in the war, from the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Wednesday.
This will be the 13th such repatriation of CPV remains following the handover agreement between the two countries. Since 2014, the remains of 1,011 soldiers have been returned to China from the ROK, according to China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs.
More than 170 representatives, including veteran CPV soldiers, relatives of the martyrs, active-duty personnel, students, and other from various sectors of society, attended the event.
People boarded a ferry which slowly sailed down the Yalu River. Inside the cabin, all present stood in solemn silence as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China was played, and observed a moment of silence in honor of the CPV martyrs.
Then, they walked to the ship's railings one by one and scattered flower petals into the river to pay tribute to the martyrs.
"We, the CPV, went abroad to fight to defend our motherland, the people, and our good life and to resist U.S. imperialist aggression against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). I hope that our young comrades and students today will study hard and make contributions to our motherland," said Hu Changzhe, a CPV veteran.
"I feel deeply moved as these veteran soldiers are heroes who once fought for our country. Now, standing by the Yalu River, looking back on their past and remembering their comrades, they must be deeply touched," said Hong Jialu, a student at a branch of Liaoning Province Shiyan High School.
At the event, 10 student representatives from primary and middle schools read aloud a letter to express their reverence and remembrance for the heroic martyrs through their sincere words and heartfelt recitation.
The Korean War broke out in June 1950, eight months after the People's Republic of China was founded. At the request of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China sent 2.9 million CPV soldiers to assist the DPRK during the war, of whom more than 360,000 were killed or injured.
Commemorations held to pay tribute to CPV heroes in northeast China
