*Japan's Finance Minister stated on Friday that Japan could use its holdings of over $1 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities as leverage in trade negotiations with Washington, marking the first time Tokyo has explicitly raised its status as a major U.S. creditor as a bargaining chip.*

*The remarks came as senior officials from both nations held a second round of bilateral tariff talks.*

*"In many ways, Washington's Achilles' heel remains its federal debt," Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell, told Reuters, noting that the annual cost of servicing U.S. debt has surpassed $1 trillion.*

*"Trump and Bessent's plan to use tariffs to boost revenue might help in theory… but it remains unclear whether these measures will be sufficient, and Japan seems well aware of that," Mould added.*