Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said it was up to the U.S. to resolve its debt impasse, not for Japan to fret over its investment in Treasuries, as a deadlock in Washington threatens to trigger a U.S. default.
"This isn't a problem that can somehow be resolved by us making a lot of noise," Aso said in an interview on Friday in Washington with Bloomberg TV. "There's no other way than for the U.S. government itself and the U.S. Congress to make an effort to sort it out. It's not a matter of what we should do," Aso, 73, said when asked if Japan needed to look at its asset allocation in U.S. Treasuries.
With the U.S. set to run out of room to borrow more unless Congress increases the debt ceiling by Oct. 17, Senate leaders began negotiations to avert a U.S. default after talks between the White House and House Republicans hit an impasse. Group of 20 central bankers and finance ministers called for "urgent action" to break the deadlock after the International Monetary Fund warned a failure by the U.S. to meet its debt obligations would "seriously damage" the global economy.