Fukoku Life Plans to Step Up Japanese Government Bond Purchases

Fukoku Life Insurance may increase its purchases of Japanese super-long bonds just as the nation’s debt market trembled this week ahead of upper house elections.

The insurer has raised its local bond purchase target for the current fiscal year to several hundred billion yen from the initially planned 30 billion yen, and is focusing on Japanese government debt to capitalize on higher super-long-term interest rates.

This plan comes as the 20-year and the 30-year yields rose to their highest since 1999 earlier this week amid concerns that a defeat for the ruling coalition on July 20 may lead to looser ...