Japan is set to raise scheduled sales of Japanese government bonds (JGB) slightly to ¥172.3 trillion ($1.1 trillion) next fiscal year from the current year, the first increase in four years, a draft plan shows.
Much of the increase in sales of scheduled JGBs to the market will be made in shorter-dated debt to tap demand from Japanese banks, which the government hopes will partially replace the Bank of Japan as major holders.
The sales of superlong bonds, with maturities of 30 and 40 years, will be reduced to reflect shrinking demand from life insurers, as they have mostly completed purchases for meeting new capital requirements.