Japan cuts issuance of longest bonds as fiscal worries drive selloff

Japan’s finance ministry will over the next fiscal year issue the fewest super-long government bonds, known as JGBs, in 17 years, according to a plan approved by the cabinet on Friday.

The reduction by nearly a fifth from the previous fiscal year to bonds worth around 17.4 trillion yen ($111.6 billion), reflects the new administration’s sensitivity over the rise of JGB yields to a series of ‌record highs in recent weeks.

The increase has been driven by market ‌expectations that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s expansionary fiscal policies will add to a debt burden that is already the biggest among developed nations.