For all the frenzy over the Bank of Japan's first policy tweak in almost two years, little seems to have changed for the nation's insurers.
That's because the rise in long-end government bond yields seen after the central bank's July 31 decision has proved to be fleeting, giving no incentive to the likes of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co., Nippon Life Insurance Co. and Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co. to bring home some of the funds locked overseas.
Global markets have been riveted by how high yields on Japanese bonds may climb after Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda doubled the trading range allowed for the benchmark 10-year yield. Insurers are clearly signaling that a tidal change in the nation's money flow won't come until the central bank lowers purchases of superlong debt.