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August 12, 2026
 

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Takahiko Hyuga
Increasing bankruptcies in Japan suggest the smaller firms that employ most of Â鶹´«Ã½ workers are finding it difficult to withstand the yen¡¯s prolonged weakness.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 2, 2026
First-half bankruptcies reach highest level since 2022 as weak yen takes toll
Data suggests smaller firms that employ most of Â鶹´«Ã½ workers are finding it increasingly difficult to withstand the currency¡¯s prolonged weakness.
Nippon Steel raised ?90 billion ($560 million) in its first straight-bond offering since acquiring United States Steel, with a 10-year tranche carrying a 3.202% coupon, its highest in about 30 years, according to Bloomberg data.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2026
Nippon Steel gets ?90 billion via first bond since U.S. Steel acquisition
The yen-denominated bond sale is an early test of investor appetite for Japanese companies pursuing growth through large overseas acquisitions.
Alphabet, the parent of Google, sold ?576.5 billion ($3.6 billion) in bonds in the largest ever yen deal by a non-Japanese company as competition to fund data centers and AI infrastructure intensifies.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2026
Alphabet sells biggest yen bond on record by foreign issuer
The Google parent sold ?576.5 billion ($3.6 billion) of bonds as competition to fund centers and AI infrastructure intensifies.
Japan Post Holdings and 11 other issuers are planning bond sales in April and May, according to data as of April 1, compared to 29 at the same point a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 2, 2026
Japan credit pipeline slows as investors grapple with volatility
The number of borrowers planning yen deals at the start of the new fiscal year is down about 60% from a year earlier.
Sales of Japanese government bonds for individual investors have topped ?5 trillion this year, the highest level since 2007, as rising interest rates draw household funds out of bank deposits following the Bank of Japan's policy tightening.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 18, 2025
Retail JGB sales hit highest since 2007 as rates climb
Issuance from January to December totaled about ?5.28 trillion, Ministry of Finance data has shown.
Supermarket chain Aeon debuted its first yen-denominated bonds targeting individuals this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 11, 2025
Japanese firms sell record retail debt as inflation fuels demand
The sales are the latest sign that sticky inflation is causing households to shift more of their $14.3 trillion of financial assets into riskier investments.
SoftBank Group said it is issuing a yen-denominated bond at an annual coupon of 3.98%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2025
SoftBank ?500 billion bond coupon highest in more than a decade
The rate on the unsecured seven-year note was set near the upper end of the previously announced range of between 3.5% and 4.1%, according to a term sheet from the company.
SoftBank priced ?46 billion in bonds on Friday, bringing its already record issuance this year to around ?400 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2025
SoftBank prices ?46 billion in bonds, extending record issuance
The offering comes amid a sharp rise in benchmark government bond yields, driven by concerns over fiscal expansion under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s administration.
Berkshire Hathaway sold ?210.1 billion ($1.4 billion) in yen-denominated bonds on Friday at a narrower spread than its previous deal, as global investors flock to Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2025
Berkshire Hathaway raises more than ?210 billion from bond sale
The Omaha, Nebraska-based firm has been a regular issuer of yen bonds since its debut six years ago, making it the largest foreign issuer of yen notes in that period.
Rakuten Group issued a local bond with this year's highest coupon of 4.691%, highlighting the impact of rising interest rates on corporate borrowing costs in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2025
Japan gets highest-yielding yen bond this year with Rakuten deal
Japanese bond yields have climbed over concerns the next administration may pursue a more expansionary fiscal policy.
Itochu is planning to issue between ?30 billion and ?50 billion in local currency debt and is weighing a $500 million bond, said Kenichiro Soma, executive officer and general manager of finance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2025
Itochu mulls first dollar note issue in five years to diversify
The push comes as tighter credit spreads and expectations for U.S. rate cuts fuel demand for investment-grade bonds, with premiums over government debt near the lowest since 2007.
Itochu has raised ?15.2 billion ($103 million) from a sale of Â鶹´«Ã½ first so-called orange bonds to fund gender equality projects.
BASEBALL
Sep 5, 2025
Itochu sells Â鶹´«Ã½ first orange bonds for gender equality
The Japanese trading house raised ?15.2 billion ($103 million) from the debt sale, more than the initial plan for a ?10 billion offering.
Kioxia is rated BB+, one step below investment grade, by both S&P and Fitch.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 15, 2025
Chipmaker Kioxia plans debut bond abroad, joining Japan peers
Kioxia plans to raise as much as $3 billion via a dollar bond sale that would be its first corporate debt issuance, in the latest sign of investor appetite abroad.
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 11, 2025
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
The automaker is offering a record-high coupon on at least one part of its dollar- and euro-denominated junk bond sale to drum up demand.
Kazuki Hara, the head of Â鶹´«Ã½ Rating and Investment Information's sovereigns and international issuers department, says that confidence in the dollar as a key reserve currency has not been shaken.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 8, 2025
Japanese agency¡¯s affirmation of top U.S. credit rating helps Hong Kong funds
As long as Rating and Investment Information maintains its top rating for the U.S., Hong Kong funds are allowed to invest over 10% of their assets in Treasurys.
Softbank Corp. is offering $1 billion of dollar bonds in the unit¡¯s first U.S. high-grade deal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2025
SoftBank unit set to raise $1 billion from its first dollar bond
SoftBank Corp.¡¯s five- and 10-year notes are set to respectively price 0.9?and 1.10 percentage points above Treasuries.
The Japan Securities Dealers Association sent questionnaires to major Japanese and foreign brokerages asking about bond selling irregularities.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2025
JSDA said to probe brokerages on unsuitable Japanese bond sales
The probe marks a step toward ridding Â鶹´«Ã½ primary bond market of opaque sales practices as rising interest rates boost investor appetite for debt with higher yields.
Unsold bonds are also being covertly peddled at discounted prices, according to several market participants, including investors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 18, 2025
Japanese municipal bond deals fail to sell as rate swings surge
This month¡¯s heightened market volatility have also led to delays and cancellations of several Japanese corporate bond offerings.
Rakuten Group CEO Hiroshi Mikitani speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2025
Rakuten¡¯s Mikitani wants to sell bonds to Japanese investors
Market pricing indicates that views on Rakuten are improving after years of losses and a stretched balance sheet.
Nomura¡¯s reputation has taken a hit after it admitted to a bond market manipulation in October and following charges brought against a former employee in November on suspicion of robbery, arson and attempted murder of an elderly couple during a customer visit.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 2, 2024
Nomura¡¯s Japan corporate bond market rank slips after probe
Â鶹´«Ã½ biggest brokerage saw its position fall to sixth place in November and its market share shrink to 2.1%, the latest data shows.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Strong wind and heavy rain forecast as tropical storm approaches Japan
Tropical Storm Chan-hom is expected to make landfall in northern Kanto between late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
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Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
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