Japanese life insurers are responding to higher long-term yields by raising assumed interest rates and broadening product offerings, but the same rate move is deepening bond valuation losses. Nippon Life Insurance said unrealized losses on its domestic bond holdings rose by ¥554.2 billion from end-March to ¥6.28 trillion at end-June in its April-June 2026 non-consolidated results, while impairment charges reached ¥44 billion and securities sale losses rose 13% year on year to ¥223.1 billion as it sold low-yield bonds and shifted into higher-yielding assets. Across the sector, Sumitomo Life raised the assumed rate on single-premium whole life insurance to 2.25% in July and Meiji Yasuda Life said it will lift the rate on level-premium savings insurance to 1.6% in August, as surrender benefits totaled ¥6.02 trillion from January to May, up 39.1% from a year earlier, and Japan's Financial Services Agency reported about ¥5 trillion and ¥4 trillion of yen-bond unrealized losses at regional banks and shinkin banks and credit cooperatives.