[Driven by Expectations of a Rate Hike by the Bank of Japan, Japanese Short-Term Bond Yields Rise to 30-Year Highs] Jin10 News, September 17 – On Thursday, Japanese short-term government bond yields rose to their highest levels since April 1995. The 2-year Japanese government bond yield increased by 2 basis points to 1.865%. This followed the U.S. Federal Reserve's hawkish rate hike and its projection of another rate hike later this year, which pushed U.S. Treasury yields higher and subsequently drove up Japanese government bond yields. The market widely expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.25% on Friday. Market pricing indicates that investors anticipate the Bank of Japan will continue to raise rates by 25 basis points each quarter thereafter, with the key interest rate expected to double to 2% within approximately one year. David Clewell, portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price, stated that the market's focus is on "how far the Bank of Japan will go in opening the door to further policy normalization to avoid a significant depreciation of the yen against the dollar." This is particularly critical after the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance led to a sharp rebound in the overnight USD/JPY exchange rate. Meanwhile, long-term Japanese government bond yields have declined, as falling crude oil prices eased inflation concerns, leading to what is referred to as a "twisted flattening" of the yield curve. The 40-year Japanese government bond yield fell by 5 basis points to 4.115%, while the 20-year yield dropped by 1.5 basis points to 3.84%.