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July 24, 2026
 

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Masahiro Hidaka
The lack of movement in the yen following Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama's warning speaks to the diminishing power of verbal intervention if it isn¡¯t backed up with further action.
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2026
Japan¡¯s ¡®decisive action¡¯ threat does little to scare yen bears
The lack of movement in the yen speaks to the diminishing power of verbal intervention if it isn¡¯t backed up with further action.
Japanese investors sold the largest amount of overseas bonds since 2024 last month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2026
Japan¡¯s investors sell most overseas bonds since 2024 last month
Net sales totaled ?3.42 trillion in February, based on preliminary weekly figures from the Ministry of Finance released on Thursday, the largest monthly sale since October.
Rising domestic yields are leading Japan¡¯s top life insurers to increase local bond holdings and reduce overseas debt as foreign returns lose their appeal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 29, 2025
Japanese insurers trim foreign debt as domestic yields soar
Roughly half of 10 companies that disclosed half-year investment plans said they had cut overseas debt holdings.
The Finance Ministry is seeking input from primary dealers on the potential for further cuts to long-term government bond issuance, sources say.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2025
Japan asks primary dealers for views on cutting long bond supply
The Finance Ministry has asked primary dealers for their views on further reducing issuance of longer-maturity government bonds, according to people familiar with the matter.
Fukoku Life Insurance has raised its local bond purchase target for the current fiscal year to several hundred billion yen from the initially planned ?30 billion, and is focusing on Japanese government debt to capitalize on higher super-long-term interest rates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025
Fukoku Life plans to step up Japanese government bond purchases
The insurer¡¯s plan to purchase more Japanese super-long bonds comes amid concerns a defeat for the ruling coalition in the Upper House election may lead to looser fiscal policy.
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance's headquarters in Tokyo. Japanese life insurance companies are holding off on buying superlong-term Japanese government bonds as further interest rate hikes loom.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2025
Meiji Yasuda Life to shun superlong Japanese debt for year or more
The insurer is expecting the Bank of Japan to continue to raise rates.
The BOJ holds its next policy meeting on June 16-17, when the board is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate unchanged.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2025
Pressure mounts for Japan to adjust bond sales as soon as July
The BOJ holds its next policy meeting on June 16-17, when the board is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate unchanged.
As the global trade war intensifies, the debt, the main investment for Japan¡¯s life insurers, has seen wild swings along with its U.S. counterparts.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 18, 2025
Major Japan life insurer to pile into domestic superlong bonds
Investment decisions by Japan¡¯s life insurers can move global markets, and Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance will be the first among its major peers to report such plans.
The Government Pension Investment Fund's holdings of government bonds increased 25% to ?50.3 trillion in fiscal year ended in March.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 11, 2024
Japan¡¯s public pension fund steps up as BOJ mulls bond cuts
The BOJ is expected to release a plan to substantially reduce its debt buying at the next policy decision later this month.
Japan Post Insurance, one of the nation¡¯s biggest life insurers, held about ?60.9 trillion in assets as of the end of March, of which around ?47.7 trillion were securities, mainly government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 3, 2024
Japan Post goes slow in buying longest bonds after BOJ rate hike
Japan Post forecast in April that the 30-year government bond yield will be 2% at the end of March 2025
The Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance headquarters in Tokyo. The insurer isn't interested in buying Japan¡¯s superlong sovereign bonds until yields start rising.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 16, 2024
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance to avoid Japan sovereign bonds for now
Japanese life insurers are the main buyer of bonds due in more than 10 years and typically increase purchases toward the end of the fiscal year.
A damaged vehicle under a collapsed house following an earthquake in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday. Speculation that the Bank of Japan might shift its policy this month is receding, as the central bank has to assess the adverse impact from the Noto Peninsula disaster on the economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 5, 2024
Yen falls as earthquake raises bar for BOJ to end negative rates
While speculation about a January tweak is receding, many still expect an end to negative rates in April, or later in 2024.
Traders are betting that the Bank of Japan will almost certainly end its negative interest rate policy by early next year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2023
Rising bets on BOJ policy move shift focus to ¡®neutral¡¯ rate
This theoretical rate that neither stimulates nor restricts the economy is likely somewhere in a wide range of 0.5% to 2%, according to analysts.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank announced an emergency bond-buying operation on Wednesday after the 10-year Japanese government bond yield hit a new decade high.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2023
Bank of Japan steps into debt market to slow rising bond yields
The operation had no immediate impact on the benchmark 10-year yield, which earlier in the day touched 0.815%, a fresh decade high.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 18, 2023
Japan insurer to sell all currency-hedged foreign debt as costs rise
The strategy, among the first to be disclosed by Japanese life insurers this fiscal year, may foreshadow a renewed wave of selling by some of the biggest investors in global bond markets.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 22, 2022
Nippon Life may buy more domestic bonds after BOJ shift raises yields
Benchmark 10-year sovereign yields have almost doubled to 0.48% after policymakers raised the cap to 0.50% on Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2021
Japan¡¯s 2025 budget goal is near impossible, debt panel member says
Measures such as spending cuts or tax increases to meet the goal would shave 1% off the economy each year and are therefore unlikely, says Ayako Fujita.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 28, 2019
Negative yields will punish insurer profits, ex-Bank of Japan official says
Miyako Suda, who opposed the Bank of Japan¡¯s ultraloose monetary policy as a member of its Policy Board, has a warning for the nation¡¯s life insurers as bond yields sink ever lower.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 6, 2019
Fighting against Bank of Japan may not be crazy after all
Going against a central bank is an investment strategy fraught with peril, but some bond market analysts think the Bank of Japan will fail to steepen the yield curve.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 17, 2019
Yen likely to hit 80 to the dollar in next Japan recession, former BOJ official says
The yen is likely to reach its strongest level against the dollar in more than six years if Japan enters a recession, which could come as early as the fall of this year, a former central bank official has said.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Intervention is the word after yen moves beyond ?163 and sits there
The government could prop up the yen at any moment, though its signaling is hard to read.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
Maya Ongaku¡¯s DIY dream is getting bigger
The members of Maya Ongaku ¡ª (from left) Tsutomu Sonoda, Shoei Ikeda and Ryota Takano ¡ª grew up on the Shonan Coast south of Tokyo and have been friends since their school days.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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