Gross debt minus financial assets
Each bar's full height is gross debt. The lower part is net debt and the upper part is financial assets the government holds (IMF Fiscal Monitor: gross minus net debt). Those assets include deposits, FX reserves, loans and equity stakes such as pension-fund assets.
- Japan holds about 70% of GDP (~$3.1 trillion) in financial assets, the second-largest buffer in the group after Canada (103%). That cuts 206% gross debt to 136% net.
- Net financial worth (equity = −net debt) is still the most negative of the ten, ahead of Italy (−128%) and France (−109%). The assets narrow the gap to other countries, but they don't close it.
- Net financial worth leaves out non-financial assets (land, infrastructure), so it understates every government's full net worth.