Meiji Yasuda Will Avoid Japan Sovereign Bonds Until Yields Rise

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. will likely wait until yields rise on Japan’s super-long sovereign bonds before it starts buying them again.

Japanese life insurers are the main buyer of bonds due in more than 10 years and typically increase purchases toward the end of the fiscal year. Investor appetite has been sluggish amid falling yields, with that on benchmark 30-year securities declining to 1.58% on Monday from a decade-high of about 1.9% reached in November.

Speculation about an early interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve has also pressured yields. Additionally, the devastating earthquake that struck Ishikawa Prefecture on ...