TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) – The possibility that the Bank of
Japan (BOJ) will take bolder action to ease monetary policy is
driving Japanese bond yields to historic lows, with the
five-year yield hitting a record low of 0.135 percent on
Thursday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he would choose a new BOJ
leadership more keen to take bold measures to beat deflation
when the terms of Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his two
deputies end on March 19.

TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Japanese government bond yields
slid on Thursday, with the five-year yield hitting an all-time
low, as investors bet the Bank of Japan will adopt a zero
interest rate policy under a new governor.

The current BOJ governor Shirakawa has long resisted cutting
interest rates, saying pushing interbank lending rates to zero
would effectively kill money markets because there would be no
incentives for trading.

TOKYO/SYDNEY, Feb 6 (Reuters) – The yen slumped to a
33-month low against the dollar and the euro on Wednesday as
investors piled back into the easy one-way trade on viewd that a
more dovish Bank of Japan governor will soon be installed to
push through aggressive easing measures.

The dollar briefly rose above 94 yen. That breached a key
chart point just below that, of a 38.2 percent retracement of
its 2007-2012 decline, as the yen extended the rally sparked by
the news Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa will step down
three weeks earlier before planned.

TOKYO/SYDNEY, Feb 6 (Reuters) – The yen slumped to a
33-month low against the dollar and the euro on Wednesday as
investors piled back into the easy one-way trade on the view
that a more dovish Bank of Japan governor will soon be installed
to push through aggressive easing measures.

The euro resumed its uptrend despite a call from French
President Francois Hollande to protect the currency from
irrational movements, while the Australian dollar dropped to a
six-week low after soft Australian retail sales data.

TOKYO/SYDNEY, Feb 5 (Reuters) – The euro extended losses on
Tuesday as political uncertainty in Italy and Spain prompted
traders to take profits on the currency’s stellar gains so far
this year, after it hit a 14-month high last week.

That also helped to ease selling pressure on the yen
slightly, lifting it above a 33-month low against the dollar,
though entrenched expectations of more monetary easing in Japan
kept the Japanese currency in check.

TOKYO/SYDNEY (Reuters) – The euro was on the defensive on Tuesday as political uncertainty in Italy and Spain prompted traders to take profits on the currency’s stellar gains so far this year to a 14-month high last week.

Selling pressure on the yen eased off slightly, lifting it above a 2-1/2-year low against the dollar, though traders said selling from Japanese investors curbed its gains in Asia amid entrenched expectations of more monetary easing in Japan.

TOKYO/SYDNEY, Feb 4 (Reuters) – The yen steadied slightly
off a 2 1/2-year low against the dollar on Monday as
option-related buying prompted short-term players to refrain
from testing the Japanese currency’s downside for now.

Sentiment toward the yen remained bearish, however, as the
Bank of Japan was expected to remain under the most pressure
among major central banks to ease policy aggressively.

TOKYO/SYDNEY (Reuters) – The listless yen bounced back a tad from a 2 1/2-year low against the dollar on Monday as option-related buying prompted short-term players to give up a further test of the yen downside for now.

But it still faced the nagging problem of being the currency of choice to sell, with the Bank of Japan seen under the most pressure among major central banks to ease policy aggressively.

TOKYO/SYDNEY, Feb 4 (Reuters) – The listless yen bounced
back a tad from a 2 1/2-year low against the dollar on Monday as
option-related buying prompted short-term players to give up a
further test of the yen downside for now.

But it still faced the nagging problem of being the currency
of choice to sell, with the Bank of Japan seen under the most
pressure among major central banks to ease policy aggressively.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Currency hedging cost Japanese companies such as Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) the chance to fully cash in on a weak yen last quarter, raising the risk that investor expectations could outrun earnings.

The near 20 percent fall in the currency since October has been a primary driver of the longest weekly run of gains for the benchmark Nikkei index .N225 since 1959. .T