Japan's 10-year gov't bond yield hits 29-year high

Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond yield hit 2.54 percent on Tuesday, the highest level since June 1997, according to a Nikkei report.

Continued turmoil in the Middle East has driven up crude oil prices, fueling market concerns over accelerating inflation in Japan and triggering a sustained sell-off in government bonds.

Data recently released by Japan's Ministry of Finance shows that the country's total government debt, including government bonds, borrowings, and short-term government securities, reached 1,343.84 trillion yen (about 8.54 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of March 2026, marking a record high for the 10th consecutive year.

The incident in which a Japan Self-Defense Forces officer trespassed into the Chinese Embassy in Japan with a knife constituted a serious violation of China's sovereignty and dignity, said an embassy spokesperson.

On March 24, Kodai Murata, then an active-duty second lieutenant in Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), allegedly scaled a barbed-wire wall and broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo carrying a knife. He threatened to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel and was later arrested by the police.

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday held the first hearing in open court of Murata's trial.

The embassy spokesperson said that this egregious incident constituted a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a grave infringement on China's sovereignty and dignity, and a severe threat to the personal safety of Chinese diplomatic personnel and the security of diplomatic premises.

It also exposed numerous deep-seated issues, such as the rampant nature of right-wing forces in Japan and the lack of proper supervision and discipline regarding Self-Defense Forces personnel, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that facts are clear concerning the case, and the evidence is irrefutable, leaving no room for denial.

China and the international community are watching closely to see how Japan handles the matter. China urges Japan to show the proper attitude, severely punish the intruder, conduct a thorough investigation and implement corrective measures, and provide a responsible account of the incident, said the spokesperson.