The Japan premium has continued to be nearly zero for short-term transactions, but a small premium has been observed for transactions maturing beyond the year-end. Yields on long-term government bonds declined from late August to the level of around 1.6 percent. They rose somewhat thereafter and have recently been moving between 1.7 and 1.8 percent.
The yield spread between government bonds and private bonds (bank debentures and corporate bonds) has been stable and noticeably smaller than before.