Japan’s 10-year government bond yield fell to around 2.9% on Friday for a second straight session, moving further below its highest levels since 1996 as the global bond selloff eased. A successful 30-year Japanese government bond sale reduced market concerns and showed that investment demand remains firm, with domestic pension funds seeking larger JGB allocations ahead of an expected acceleration in the Bank of Japan’s rate-hiking cycle. Expectations for tighter policy were strengthened by hawkish comments from BOJ board member Hajime Takata and Governor Kazuo Ueda, as well as mounting pressure from the US to support the yen through higher interest rates. The BOJ is expected to raise rates by a quarter point this month and increase them again in December.