The government expressed concern Tuesday that long-term interest rates were rising "too fast," and urged the Bank of Japan to dispel market concerns about a further credit-tightening.
"The current pace of interest rate hikes seems to be rather too fast," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said at a news conference after the yield on the bellwether 10-year government bond briefly touched 2.0 percent for the first time in six years and eight months.
Market speculation that the central bank may steadily tighten its grip on credit is seen as behind the surge in long-term rates, and the BOJ should "carefully explain" its policy stance, Abe said.