Japanese government bond yields climbed to multiyear highs on Friday as stubbornly hot inflation and more hawkishness from other major central banks spurred bets that the Bank of Japan would need to tighten policy soon.
The selling of JGBs forced five-year yields above zero percent for the first time in six years, and came on the heels of the Bank of England's rate rise on Thursday and a shift in stance at the European Central Bank (ECB), which has been almost as dovish as the BOJ.
The ECB kept policy on hold while acknowledging that mounting inflation could mean a rate rise this year was not as unlikely as previously flagged.