{
  "id": 1657186,
  "title": "Japan’s debt crisis deepens as borrowing costs hit 30-year high",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/japans-debt-crisis-deepens-as-borrowing-costs-hit-30-year-high",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-18T06:33:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ghanaian Times",
    "slug": "ghanaian-times",
    "url": "https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/japans-debt-crisis-deepens-as-borrowing-costs-hit-30-year-high/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Japan's borrowing costs have surged to a 30-year peak, with traders anticipating the central bank's potential interest rate hike to shore up the weakening yen. On Monday, the 10-year bond yield climbed to 2.93%, the highest since 1996, while 30-year bonds' yield reached 4.06%, nearing a record high from May. These rising yields will raise borrowing costs for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, as she attempts to stimulate the country's struggling economy through increased spending and tax cuts. Despite an unexpected slowdown in economic growth to 0.3% in the quarter ending June 30, the government's spending has kept the economy afloat. The Bank of Japan may need to raise interest rates, even as the economy contracts, due to the yen's decline, which could spark faster inflation and destabilize global bond markets. Traders expect the Bank of Japan to raise rates again in September, following a June hike that pushed the benchmark rate to its highest since 1995. Inflation stood at 1.7% that month, the highest level of the year. The sell-off in bonds may hinder Takaichi's efforts to bolster the economy with higher spending and tax reductions, as the debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 249%, barely changing since the pandemic's onset. Robin Brooks of the Brookings Institution warns that the Bank of Japan's bond-buying program merely shifts the debt problem to the currency, rather than addressing the core issue. He notes that the yen's depreciation is merely a symptom of excessive debt. The yen reached a 40-year low against the US dollar last month, causing concern for the U.S. government, which fears that a persistently weak yen could disrupt currency and bond markets, potentially raising the U.S. government's borrowing costs. To counteract this, the Trump administration has sold off some of its euro reserves and bought yen, causing a 4% increase in the currency's value against the US dollar. However, the yen has since declined nearly 2% as the intervention's impact wanes.",
  "summary": "Japan’s borrowing costs have hit a 30-year high as traders bet its central bank will raise interest rates to rescue the sinking yen. The country’s 10-year bond yield rose by more than 0.05 percentage points to as much as 2.93 per cent on Monday, the highest since 1996. The yield on 30-year bonds climbed a … The post Japan’s debt crisis deepens as borrowing costs hit 30-year high appeared first on…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}