Back in the 1980s, the billions of dollars that the Japanese plowed into U.S. government debt reflected the Asian nation's burgeoning economic might.
Now, they are at it again, only this time it is to eke out any return they can.
Yields on Japanese debt have been pinned near zero ever since the Bank of Japan embarked on its latest attempt, in April 2013, to end the two decades of stagnation that followed those go-go years. Europe is not much of an option, as yields turned negative this year on the region's own quantitative easing.