The combined foreign-exchange reserves held by China and Hong Kong as of the end of June topped those held by Japan for the first time, according to Finance Ministry data released Friday.
As a single country or independent economy, however, Japan remained the world's largest holder of foreign reserves, the ministry said.
The ministry revealed that, according to International Monetary Fund data, Japan's reserves stood at $834.0 billion as of the end of June, while the combined reserves held by China and Hong Kong came to $837.9 billion.