Japan’s Domestic Bond Buying Surges as Foreign JGB Demand Fades

Tokyo, 25 September 2026 – Japanese investors have accelerated purchases of coupon-bearing government bonds while foreign buying has slowed sharply, changing the composition of demand in a market central to Asia’s interest-rate outlook. Data from the Japan Securities Dealers Association show domestic investors bought ¥21.7 trillion of these bonds from April through August, already equal to 89% of the ¥24.3 trillion they purchased in the entire preceding fiscal year. The comparison is striking, but the periods are different: five months are being measured against a full year.

The fiscal year in Japan begins in April. On the same April-to-August basis, foreign investors bought ¥2.8 trillion of coupon Japanese government bonds. Their purchases in the whole of fiscal 2025 had been ¥32.8 trillion. The figures indicate a clear difference in this year’s early pace, although they do not by themselves establish where foreign holdings will end the fiscal year.