8  lowered sufficiently during economic downturns in the past.12 Moreover, this decline in interest rates is actually not unique to Japan, but rather a global phenomenon. Chart 3 shows 10-year government bond yields for major countries. For visual clarity, each point represents a five-year average.
Interest rates have been declining globally and, although not visible in the chart, 10-year government bond yields have been negative in Japan, Germany, and France since around the middle of 2019.