Toshihiro Sato

Feb 2, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Akira Inujima |Toshihiro Sato

TOKYO -- Japanese retail investors are snapping up foreign assets through the revamped Nippon Individual Savings Accounts, stoking speculation that the tax-exempt investing program could contribute to further weakness in the yen. "Every investor overseas knows about the revamped NISA," said a source at a brokerage. "Many are especially interested in the scale of yen-selling and dollar-buying tied to the program, and comparing it to Japan's trade deficit."

Dec 25, 2023 | asia.nikkei.com | Toshihiro Sato |Akira Inujima

TOKYO -- Japanese households are putting a growing share of their assets into investments like equities and bonds as rising domestic and U.S. stock markets and a weak yen encourage a shift away from a long-standing preference for cash. Investment assets -- stocks, investment trusts, bonds and foreign securities -- accounted for 82% of the overall 100 trillion yen ($700 billion) increase in households' financial assets in the year through September, based on Bank of Japan data.

Nov 8, 2023 | asia.nikkei.com | Toshihiro Sato |Kosuke Iguchi

TOKYO -- Two of Japan's biggest life insurers, Nippon Life Insurance and Dai-ichi Life Insurance, are increasing their purchases of superlong-term Japanese government bonds in the second half of fiscal 2023, amid rising yields and high hedging costs associated with foreign bond investment. "Yields on 30-year bonds have been rising, and are now at a level sufficient for investment," said Akiko Osawa, managing executive director at Nippon Life Insurance, or Nissay.

Nov 5, 2023 | asia.nikkei.com | Toshihiro Sato

TOKYO -- The Bank of Japan has begun loosening its long-lived tight control over the nation's bond market, gradually allowing the private-sector trader to determine prices. But the issue of government bonds will not subside, creating the risk of an unexpected increase in interest rates during this transition.

Nov 1, 2023 | asia.nikkei.com | Toshihiro Sato

TOKYO -- The sell-off in the yen has quickened despite the Bank of Japan's decision to further relax its yield curve control as the gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates remains stubbornly wide. The Japanese currency slid as far as 151.74 yen to the dollar at one point Tuesday in New York. Crossing the 151.94-yen mark reached in October 2022 would bring the currency to a 33-year low not seen since July 1990.