Japan’s Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co. is maintaining an elevated cash position as a buffer against volatile global markets and concerns about rising government spending in the country.

Japan’s 30-year government bond auction drew firm demand as elevated yields attracted investors.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management’s Shinji Kunibe said that funds in his global fixed-income group have sold their entire holdings of French government bonds amid concerns about the nation’s fiscal situation, shifting funds to German bunds and short-term Japanese government bonds.

The yen weakened against the dollar after a summary of opinions from the Bank of Japan’s September meeting disappointed investors looking for signs that policymakers may be preparing for another move this month.

The yen outperformed all its Group-of-10 peers on Wednesday as a series of government warnings on the currency and quarter-end flows provided support.

Japan’s government bonds slumped on Friday, tracking a selloff in the US bond market after escalating Middle East tensions drove up oil prices.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenged traders to test his resolve on boosting Japan’s currency, saying when he wades into markets these days he’s effectively doing so with inside information.

Japan’s five-year government bond auction saw slightly tepid demand as investors turned cautious ahead of this month’s Bank of Japan meeting.

Government bonds are generally viewed as one of the safest assets to invest in. That’s because it’s considered relatively unlikely that the issuer — a government — will go bankrupt. Among the world’s major government debt markets, Japan’s $7.5 trillion bond market has, for decades, been considered one of the most stable.

The yen strengthened to its highest level since February, surpassing the peak reached after coordinated intervention by Japan and the US.

The yen strengthened nearly 2% Thursday, reversing a month of gradual decline, as traders lifted bets on Bank of Japan interest-rate hikes and remained vigilant to the risk of official action to further boost the currency.

A surge in the yen highlighted the nervous tension surrounding the currency in the run up to the Bank of Japan’s meeting later this month.

The yen strengthened against the dollar after Bank of Japan Board Member Hajime Takata, one of the bank’s most hawkish members, left the door open for an outsized interest-rate increase as well as back-to-back hikes.

A sale of Japan’s 10-year government debt passed smoothly after the yield on the key maturity hit the milestone of 3% and investors positioned for an interest rate hike.

Japan’s auction of 10-year government bonds on Tuesday will test demand for this key maturity as yields approach the milestone of 3% and investors position for an interest rate hike from the central bank.

About one month after Japan and the US joined forces to prop up the yen, strategists say the intervention succeeded in slowing the currency’s short-term slide but did little to alter the drivers of its longer-term decline.

Two Japanese bond auctions next week may challenge US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s efforts to subdue longer-maturity Treasury yields.

Japan’s 20-year sovereign bond sale went smoothly, as yields near the highest in three decades attracted investors and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s fresh attempt to rein in borrowing costs supported sentiment.

Japan’s bonds fell on fiscal concerns and growing speculation that the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates in the coming months, pushing the 10-year yield to the highest since 1996.

The yen’s weakness has become a growing issue for Japan’s policymakers, given its role in driving up import prices and household living costs. It’s also become a worry for the US.