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The story
On October 3, 2026, news that Japan’s long-term interest rate (the yield on the newly issued 10-year government bond) broke through 3% became a hot topic on a 5ch thread in the “Live Everything G” board. While the Bank of Japan pushes ahead with rate hikes, opinions on the Takaichi administration’s economic management are split, with critics blaming “Takaichi’s fault” clashing against defenders praising her for “honoring her campaign promises.” At the same time, anxiety is spreading among variable-rate mortgage holders — who reportedly make up more than 70% of borrowers — and the yen’s trajectory, having weakened back from 152 to 158 against the dollar, has also become a talking point.
What people said
It's the BOJ hiking rates, not her
Takaichi's using it to mean 'stepping back' — can you stop deliberately misreading it?
Trying to keep her campaign promise is actually admirable
Ohohoho, lol (mocking laugh)
FYI it's apparently already weakened back from 152 to 158
Uh, that IS the yen weakening
USD/JPY will snap right back
Government policy is wrecking the Japanese economy, so hiking rates
means nothing unless that changes first
Even [Treasury Secretary] Bessent's been saying as much
Move back in with your parents once you retire, I guess
Which bank did you go through?
The yen is overvalued, 300 to the dollar would be fair value
Uh, they have raised it
Normally that's exactly when you'd cut taxes instead
Thanks a lot, LDP
The economy's doing fine though
FYI:
Short-term rates → rise when the BOJ hikes
Long-term rates → set by the market
So you're saying prices are too high even though the economy's good? If it were really good, rising prices wouldn't even be newsworthy
Prices haven't really risen that much
Stocks up, wages up, sales up — it's nothing but good news
Sounds like someone who checks MoneyCheck (a mortgage-comparison site) way too often
If you'd invested what you saved in the meantime, you could make it all back
Glad to know I'm not alone, lol
Wages will go up eventually too, so it'll be fine (copium)
I don't get the nerve to pick variable during an inflation period
There wasn't really much inflation 5 years ago though
Could you really not predict what would happen after the whole world printed money like crazy during COVID?
That was right around the 'lumber shock' headlines — Japan was still the lone holdout untouched by global inflation back then
Nah, it's actually the start of the Golden 40 Years
Background and key points of this discussion
The long-term interest rate is a market-set benchmark determined by the government bond market, distinct from the policy (short-term) rate that the Bank of Japan directly controls, and it influences things like fixed mortgage rates. Variable-rate mortgages, chosen by more than 70% of borrowers, track the short-term rate instead, so breaking above 3% on the long-term rate doesn’t immediately hit their monthly payments. The thread’s central puzzle — “why is the yen weakening even as rates rise?” — stems from the fact that the US is hiking rates at the same time, keeping the US-Japan rate gap from narrowing much. Views on the Takaichi administration’s economic policy were split along partisan lines, with the same remark about the yen being read as either a “retreat” or a kept promise depending on the poster. The disagreement over whether the economy is “good” or “suffering from high prices” also reflects how differently people’s economic circumstances color their perception.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Live Everything G) thread “[Bad News] Long-Term Rate Breaks 3% WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.”
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