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August 11, 2026
 

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Atsuko Fukase
Corporate bond issuance reached a record ?16.7 trillion in the financial year through March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 21, 2026
Climbing interest rates reshape Â鶹´«Ã½ corporate bond market
While higher rates have raised borrowing costs for issuers, they have also incentivized investors toward fixed-income securities, setting in motion a new cycle of capital flows.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has priced a ?300 billion ($1.9 billion) dual-tranche Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bond deal, adding to a growing pipeline that underwriters estimate could push Japanese bank issuance of the special bond to a record high this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2026
Japanese banks see hybrid bond boom to fund regulatory capital
The issuance of Additional Tier 1 bonds, which are considered among the riskiest forms of bank debt, could rise to a record high in Japan this year.
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.
While yields on euro-denominated bonds tend to be lower than those in dollars, investors are currently able to generate extra yield pickup by using swaps.
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ record sales of euro bonds show historic funding shift
Â鶹´«Ã½ largest trading firm, Mitsubishi, raised €1 billion from its inaugural euro-denominated bond offering in February.
Japan has become one of the world¡¯s most active markets for mergers and acquisitions in terms of deal growth as the nation¡¯s companies face pressure from investors to deploy cash into growth investments.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 14, 2026
M&A boom in Japan is fueling record corporate bond sales
Japan has become one of the most active markets for mergers and acquisitions in terms of deal growth as investors pressure companies there to deploy cash into growth investments.
SoftBank Group issued about ?500 billion in retail bonds at a coupon of 3.98% in November.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 7, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ corporate debt sales set for another banner year in 2026
Rising yields and lower volatility compared with government bonds saw investors snap up $105 billion of local-currency corporate debt in 2025, the most in records back to 1999.
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.
Japanese companies have raised $132 billion in foreign-currency bond and loan deals arranged by banks so far in 2025, up 56% from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 4, 2025
Â鶹´«Ã½ $132 billion borrowing binge reshapes global credit
Underscoring the unprecedented shift onto the global stage, annual overseas note issuance is on course to exceed debt sales in yen for the first time ever.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
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.
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.
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.
¡®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.
¡®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.
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.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.

Podcast

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

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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