Although the Bank of Japan has left its "zero-interest-rate" policy intact for now, interest rates remain a main factor in the marketplace.
Attention is focusing on the direction long-term interest rates will take. While the central bank effectively controls short-term rates through its open market operations, long-term rates are determined largely by market forces of supply and demand.
No one welcomes a rise in long-term interest rates at the moment, which would no doubt hurt the nascent economic recovery here.