JGB Balance Tops 1,000 T. Yen for 1st Time at End of 2022

Tokyo, Feb. 10 (Jiji Press)--The outstanding balance of ordinary Japanese government bonds stood at 1,005,777.2 billion yen at the end of 2022, topping 1,000 trillion yen for the first time, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.

The year-end balance grew by 11,980.7 billion yen from the end of September last year, indicating that the country's fiscal position deteriorated further.

Ordinary JGBs include construction bonds, deficit-covering bonds, reconstruction bonds and refunding bonds.

The outstanding balance of "national debt," which includes borrowings and financing bills as well as ordinary JGBs, rose by 5,619.6 billion yen to 1,256,999.2 billion yen.

As the Bank of Japan appears to be moving toward revising its current monetary easing policy, a possible rise in JGB yields could increase the burden of JGB redemption, making the government's fiscal management even more difficult.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]