Japan's Fukoku Life Insurance Plans to Reduce Japanese Bond Purchases

Fukoku Life Insurance Company in Japan plans to decrease its purchases of Japanese government bonds in the current fiscal year, according to reports. The company believes there is limited room for growth in yields on super-long-term bonds. Fukoku Life intends to increase its holdings of Japanese bonds by 110 billion yen (approximately $6.91 billion), which is a reduction compared to the previous fiscal year's projected increase of around 480 billion yen. According to Jin10, Yusuke Onodera, the company's executive officer of the investment planning department, stated, "Last fiscal year, domestic bond yields rose more than expected, prompting us to reduce foreign bond investments to increase domestic investments. However, this year, we have observed that yields on super-long-term bonds have remained generally stable, leading to a slower pace of bond replacement."