<p>Yes, in the sense that the Bank of Japan could theoretically decide to purchase the entire stock of Japanese Government bonds from any holder that wished to sell them.  This would have the result of replacing the National debt by a large amount of cash balances which are a liability for the central bank.  If you view the Japanese Government and the central bank as a consolidated government entity, then all you have done is to replace a JGB obligation by a currency obligation.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-06T13:51:52.503Z
2022-07-06T13:51:52.503Z
dm63
<p>Does Japan theoretically have the ability to pay off its national debt immediately?  It has $12 Trillion National debt. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_Japan" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_Japan</a></p>
<p>Its has current account balance surplus and high national savings rate.  <a href="https://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?v=145" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?v=145</a></p>
<p>I keep hearing this as a topic of debate, how Japan national debt situation is different from other countries.</p>

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2022-07-06T09:04:23.927Z
Did you mean to ask whether the Japanese government could pay off it's debt? If not, who exactly are you referring to by "Japan"?
BrsG
<japan>
Can Japan pay off national debt immediately if it wanted to?
mattsmith5
# Can Japan pay off national debt immediately if it wanted to?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-07-05)

Does Japan theoretically have the ability to pay off its national debt immediately? It has $12 Trillion National debt. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_Japan>

Its has current account balance surplus and high national savings rate. <https://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?v=145>

I keep hearing this as a topic of debate, how Japan national debt situation is different from other countries.

**Tags:** japan
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Did you mean to ask whether the Japanese government could pay off it's debt? If not, who exactly are you referring to by "Japan"?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-07-06. Score: 1

Yes, in the sense that the Bank of Japan could theoretically decide to purchase the entire stock of Japanese Government bonds from any holder that wished to sell them. This would have the result of replacing the National debt by a large amount of cash balances which are a liability for the central bank. If you view the Japanese Government and the central bank as a consolidated government entity, then all you have done is to replace a JGB obligation by a currency obligation.


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