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A record level of foreign money is flowing into Japanese assets. Why?

Japanese assets saw more than $50 billion worth of investment from abroad in April, according to a report from Nikkei Asia.

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A record level of foreign money is flowing into Japanese assets. Why?
Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images

One of the many effects we’re already seeing when it comes to consequences of the trade war is a change in the flow of investments around the world.

For example, according to a report from Nikkei Asia, April saw more foreign money flowing into Japanese stocks and bonds than ever before — more than $50 billion worth of investment from overseas.

While most global investors still consider the U.S. a “safe haven,” it’s looking a lot less “safe” than it used to for many, according to Charles Lichfield, deputy director and C. Boyden Gray senior fellow of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center.

“There's less interest in dollar-denominated assets, and especially a desire by big, big investors like central banks and sovereign wealth funds to get out of dollar-denominated assets to an extent and into others,” he said.

So they are looking around the globe for other big, stable economies where they can park their cash. “And the Japanese yen and yen-denominated assets are now comparatively more attractive,” Lichfield said.

But Japan isn’t the only place seeing a boost in investment due to Trump’s tariff policies.

“Global investors are looking at markets in Europe. The German market, for instance, has seen an uptick in investment,” said Charles Boustany, a senior advisor at the National Bureau of Asian Research.

He expects that will continue until economic policy in the U.S. becomes a bit more predictable.

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