Japanese Banks Sold $16 Billion of Foreign Bonds in September, Their Largest Monthly Sale Since February

Japanese banks sold $16 billion of foreign bonds in September, their largest monthly sale since February. It was their 9th consecutive monthly sale, the longest streak since 2022.
As a result, Japanese banks' sales of foreign debt in the first 9 months of 2026 were the largest for that period since 2005.
Japanese financial institutions have turned to domestic government bonds, whose yields have surged to their highest levels in 3 decades. Over the 5 months ending in August, large banks and insurers bought $34 billion of Japanese government bonds with maturities of 2 years or more, their largest 5-month purchase since the start of 2023.