Japan MOF preparing to raise long-term rate estimate in FY2026 budget request, Yomiuri reports

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Ministry of Finance is preparing to raise its assumed interest rate for long-term government bonds at 2.6% for fiscal 2026/27 budget requests, the highest level in 17 years, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Friday.

The country’s assumed bond interest rate was 2.1% during the fiscal 2025 budget request phase before being adjusted to 2.0% in the final budget. The increase for the next budget would lead to higher debt servicing costs, the report also said without citing sources.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)