Japanese companies rushed to the international bond market in 2025, with issuance particularly strong from those rated triple-B or lower as they sought duration and size in foreign currencies. They issued a record $100bn-equivalent in foreign currency bonds last year, a surge driven by a big refinancing wall and a global search for yield by investors in a volatile rate environment, says Masanori Kazama, an executive director in Nomura Securities’ international debt capital markets team in Tokyo.