Feb 14 (Reuters) - Japanese investors withdrew heavily

from foreign stocks in the week through February 8, snapping an

eight-week buying spree as U.S. President Donald Trump's

widening tariffs threat sparked fears of global trade

relationships reshaping in the U.S.' favour.

Japanese investors divested 1.27 trillion yen ($8.31

billion) worth of foreign equities on a net basis, the most for

a week since November 2022, according to Japan's Ministry of

Finance data.

Trump has previously announced steep tariffs on Mexico,

Canada, and China -- although he has delayed implementing some

of those -- and towards the end of last week, widened his focus

by threatening to slap reciprocal tariffs on countries that tax

the import of U.S. products.

In response, Japanese investors sought the relative safety

of bonds, pumping in a robust 1.75 trillion yen into foreign

long-term bonds, the largest amount in any week since September

2024. They also snapped up a net 18 billion yen worth of

short-term bills.

At the same time, Japanese shares suffered a net 384.4

billion yen worth of foreign outflows, the second week of net

sales in a row.

Foreigners also ditched 187.2 billion yen worth of long-term

Japanese bonds, snapping a three-week-long buying trend. They,

however, purchased short-term bills of a net 508.1 billion yen,

registering a fifth weekly net purchase in six weeks.

($1 = 152.7900 yen)