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May 16, 2026
 

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Masaki Kondo
An electronic screen displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar, euro and other foreign currencies in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 16, 2026
Curious yen spikes have traders gaming Japan ¡®warning shots¡¯
Investors and strategists are debating whether Japanese authorities are trying to stem further weakness in the yen through smaller operations.
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.
A narrowing of the yield premium of U.K. debt over Japanese government bonds has led to the appeal of gilts fading.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 13, 2026
Japanese funds sell most U.K. bonds since 2011 amid fiscal concern
Higher bond yields in Japan also sapped demand for gilts.
Japan¡¯s retail investors continue to have a good appetite for foreign assets, despite the rally in Japanese equities last year.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 5, 2026
Japan retail investors ignore domestic bull market to opt for U.S.
Individuals unloaded a net $24.3 billion of Japanese stocks and related investment trusts through November, the most in more than a decade.
The Bank of Japan still owns more than 50% of outstanding Japanese government bonds even as foreign investors storm into the market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 9, 2025
Foreign traders seize on Japan bonds, sparking era of volatility
Overseas investors now account for roughly 65% of monthly cash JGB transactions, up from 12% in 2009.
The skyline of the City of London. Japanese investors bought the largest amount of U.K. sovereign bonds in over four years in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 8, 2025
Japanese purchases of U.K. gilts at highest since 2021 in October
They purchased a net ?418.6 billion of U.K. debt in October, the most since January 2021, Japan¡¯s latest balance-of-payments data has shown.
An employee counts Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange bureau in Istanbul. The lira has for years been one of the world¡¯s most volatile currencies, but offers carry traders interest rates that are hard to beat.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 20, 2025
Japan traders' fondness for Turkish lira prompts fears of intervention losses
The lira is one of the world¡¯s most volatile currencies and Tokyo is increasingly uneasy with the weakness of the yen, leaving day traders exposed on all sides.
Japan¡¯s biggest life insurers collectively lowered bullish yen wagers tied to their foreign investment holdings, a move that suggests they see a lower likelihood of the yen showing the kind of strength it did in the past.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 30, 2025
Japanese life insurers cut bullish yen hedges to 14-year low
Nine of Japan¡¯s biggest life insurers collectively lowered bullish yen wagers tied to their foreign investment holdings to 44.4% at the end of March from 45.2% six months earlier.
Yields in Japan¡¯s $7.8 trillion government debt market are now rising rapidly after years of moving at a glacial pace.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2025
Japan¡¯s steep bond curve divides investors and challenges economy
Yields in the country¡¯s $7.8 trillion government debt market are shifting higher at breakneck speed after years of moving at a glacial pace.
Demand for Japanese debt has risen since March as the Trump administration¡¯s higher tariffs sparked a surge in market volatility.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2025
Japan¡¯s superlong bonds draw record foreign inflow on haven bid
Global funds bought a net ?2.18 trillion of the nation¡¯s debt with original maturities of more than 10 years.
Some market participants predict that benchmark 10-year borrowing costs won¡¯t climb as sharply as the fiscal year that ended Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 1, 2025
Japan confronts biggest bond loss globally as BOJ rate hikes upend market
The past year marked a sixth straight year of losses for Japan¡¯s sovereign debt as the central bank raises rates while its other counterparts elsewhere are cutting them.
One year on from the Bank of Japan's historic rate hike, the biggest winners are the banks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2025
Banks boom and shoppers scrimp a year after Japan¡¯s rate pivot
Higher borrowing costs are also fueling a political battle over how the government can rein in its outlays.
Japanese nominal wages rose at the fastest pace in nearly three decades according to data out this month, and GDP figures showed Japan¡¯s economy outperformed forecasts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 27, 2025
Yen traders raise focus on Japanese data as economy shifts gears
The news marks a mindset change since the Bank of Japan ended its negative-rates policy last March.
Japanese investors are estimated to have increased holdings of Chinese bonds by 53% last year, the most among the markets that make up the World Government Bond Index, according to Bloomberg analysis of Japanese balance-of-payments data.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 22, 2025
Tokyo fund buys China bonds for first time on Japanification bet
"Our long-term view is that it¡¯s inevitable for China to follow the path of Japan,¡± said Hikaru Tanaka, fund manager at Asset Management One.
Investment trusts that cater to Japanese individuals bought a net ?10.4 trillion of overseas equities and funds last year after the government expanded the scope of the Nippon Individual Savings Account system.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025
Japan¡¯s love of foreign stocks risks pushing the yen even lower
Investment trusts that cater to Japanese individuals bought a net ?10.4 trillion of overseas equities and funds last year.
A visitor holds a ?1,000 banknote to offer a prayer on the first business day of the year at the Kanda Myojin shrine in Tokyo on Monday. The yen has declined against the dollar for four straight years amid a wide gap between interest rates in Japan and the United States.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 10, 2025
Yen intervention risk creeps higher as U.S. jobs report approaches
The yen is within reach of ?160 per dollar, a breach of which would increase concern about the weak currency¡¯s impact on business and consumers.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda said in July that the central bank¡¯s holdings would decrease by 7% to 8% in about two years¡¯ time, but they are set to stay at higher-than-desirable levels in the long-term.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 23, 2024
91²Ö¿â bond supply set to reach decade high as BOJ bond purchases slow
The BOJ¡¯s plan to almost halve bond purchases comes as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans additional spending in an extra budget.
The Bank of Japan regularly sells government bonds with repurchase agreements to boost liquidity.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 4, 2024
BOJ sells 10-year cash bonds to ease shortage tied to futures
The BOJ owned ?8.03?trillion of the bonds due in March 2032 as of Nov. 29, down from ?8.23?trillion on Nov. 20.
The yen carry trade is expected to ramp up next year, driven by wide gaps in interest rates, higher government borrowing in the U.S. and low volatility in currency markets, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 3, 2024
Yen carry trade that rattled markets shows signs of a comeback
Japanese retail investors as well as leveraged funds and asset managers outside the country are estimated to have boosted bearish wagers on the yen in November.
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 19, 2024
Two of America¡¯s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
Japanese investors sold a record $61.9 billion of the securities in the three months ended Sept. 30.
After rule change, Japan see 96% drop in business manager visa applications
Manish Kumar, an Indian national who has run an Indian restaurant in Saitama Prefecture for 18 years, speaks at a rally in Tokyo in protest of new business manager visa requirements.
Strong earthquake jolts Tohoku region
A Japan Meteorological Agency map shows where shaking was felt in Friday evening's earthquake.
Legendary figure skater Kaori Sakamoto announces marriage
Figure skater Kaori Sakamoto smiles as she holds a bouquet of flowers at a news conference in Kobe on Wednesday.
Convenience store operators work to have their stores act as disaster hubs
A conceptual image of a FamilyMart convenience store offering emergency information on electronic displays usually used for advertising
Cyclists issued ¡®blue tickets¡¯ in over 2,000 cases since April 1 rollout
Japan implemented a new system in April that penalizes minor bicycle traffic rule violators with a "blue ticket" that carries a fine of up to ?12,000.
Strategic stalemate: Xi and Trump summit to test limits of managed competition
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a friendship walk through Zhongnanhai, the tightly guarded headquarters of China¡¯s ruling Communist Party, in Beijing on Friday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
How Japanese grammar captures the gap between legal outcomes and public judgment
Even a slight brush with the law can be enough to cause reputational damage for public figures.
Walton offers Japanese investors a hedge with exposure to U.S. land assets
James Buchanan, managing director, South Asia, Walton Global, says there has been ¡°a huge demand for alternative real estate investments.¡±
Legendary figure skater Kaori Sakamoto announces marriage
Figure skater Kaori Sakamoto smiles as she holds a bouquet of flowers at a news conference in Kobe on Wednesday.
Hello Panda: A globally loved snack Japan said goodbye to in 1989
Meiji's Hello Panda chocolate cookies are displayed for sale at a store in Manhattan in April.

Podcast

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

Longform

Japanese content creators in China have emerged as informal ¡°digital diplomats,¡± using social media to share everyday experiences amid a period of deepening tension between Tokyo and Beijing.
How Japanese influencers in China are bridging a growing divide
By Mike Fu

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