Japan's foreign exchange reserves totaled $361.47 billion at the end of March, down $2.22 billion from a month earlier and logging the second straight monthly fall, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
The ministry attributed the drop mainly to a weak euro, which pushed down the reserves' value in dollar terms.
The reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in foreign currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, IMF special drawing rights and gold.
Japan had $281.97 billion in foreign securities and $65.83 billion in foreign currency deposits. Of the deposits, $5.18 billion is in foreign central banks and the Bank for International Settlements, $39.36 billion in Japanese banks and $21.3 billion in foreign banks.
Japan also had $4.98 billion in IMF reserve positions, $2.37 billion in IMF SDRs and $6.33 billion in gold.
Based on the data available at the end of January, Japan was the world's largest holder of foreign reserves for the 16th consecutive month.