🇯🇵 Japan’s debt trap deepens. Japan’s debt-servicing bill is projected to surge 17% to a record ¥36.6T ($230B) in fiscal 2027. That would mark the steepest increase in 20 years. The assumed interest rate used for the calculation will rise from 3.0% to 3.8%, its highest level in 29 years. Meanwhile, Japan’s 10-year bond yield recently hit 2.945%, a three-decade high. Total government budget requests are expected to exceed ¥130T for the first time, meaning debt servicing alone could consume roughly 28% of the total. For decades, Japan could carry enormous debt because borrowing costs stayed near zero. Now, that debt is gradually being refinanced at much higher rates. Higher yields increase debt costs, rising costs worsen fiscal concerns, and those concerns push yields even higher. Japan’s era of free money is over and the bill is arriving.(Coin Bureau)