Regardless of who sits in the Bank of Japan hot seat, the biggest worry of global bond investors — a wave of Japanese cash heading home — has already begun in earnest and looks unlikely to stop.
The yen rose and local bond yields climbed on Friday’s surprise that economist Kazuo Ueda looks set to be picked as the next BOJ governor, sending bond traders scrambling to determine whether he is a hawk or a dove.
But beyond the yield fireworks any hawkish policy shift may well soon ignite, the steady selling of overseas bonds in favor of local alternatives by Japanese investors is already an established market fact.