Every quarter, the Bank of Japan publishes a set of charts on who owes what to whom in Japan. It is called the Flow of Funds. The reference charts are in Japanese.
One table in it is headed, in translation, "breakdown of holders of government bonds and bills."
The first number in the latest row reads: 41.16.
That is the percentage held by the central bank itself, at the end of June 2026.
We are going to read that table. This is not investment advice, and we take no view on whether any of this is good or bad. We are translating a central bank document.
The seven columns
The table has seven columns of holders. Here is the row for the end of June 2026.
- Central bank: ¥470 trillion — 41.16%
- Insurance and pension funds: ¥186 trillion — 16.29%
- Deposit-taking institutions (the table's term for banks and similar): ¥170 trillion — 14.88%
- Overseas: ¥150 trillion — 13.12%
- Public pensions: ¥77 trillion — 6.71%
- Households: ¥22 trillion — 1.92%
- Other: ¥68 trillion
The total is ¥1,142 trillion.
Two notes under the table matter here. The figures are at market value. And they include bonds issued for the government's fiscal loan fund.
One more thing, from the table's own title. This first table adds two things together: treasury bills, and government bonds.
The same table without the bills
That title matters, because the document then shows the same table again, with the bills taken out. Bonds only.
The total falls to ¥1,007 trillion.
The central bank is still ¥470 trillion. But its share is now 46.70%.
And the overseas column changes the most.
- With bills included: ¥150 trillion — 13.12%
- Bonds only: ¥80 trillion — 7.94%
By our arithmetic, the two totals differ by ¥135 trillion, and the two overseas figures differ by ¥70 trillion. These are rounded figures, so treat that as approximate.
So when you see a figure for foreign ownership of Japanese government debt, the first question is which of these two tables it came from.
How the row has moved
The table goes back to March 2012. Back to the first table, bills included.
In March 2012, the central bank's share was 9.60%. Deposit-taking institutions held 42.26%.
In the rows shown, the central bank's share is highest in December 2023: 47.90%.
One year ago, at the end of June 2025, it was 45.01%. Now, 41.16%.
Over that same year, deposit-taking institutions went from 12.51% to 14.88%. Households, from 1.42% to 1.92%.
The table gives the shares. It does not give a reason for any of them.
What the table does not say
Three things this table does not tell you, and so we will not either.
- It does not say which countries, or what kind of investors, are inside "overseas."
- It does not say why the central bank's share has been falling.
- It does not say what any holder plans to do next.
What it does say is this. At the end of June 2026, by the central bank's own count, the Bank of Japan held 41% of Japan's government bonds and bills. Overseas holders held 13% with bills included, and about 8% of bonds alone.
The Bank publishes it every quarter. We will read it again.
Source
Bank of Japan, Research and Statistics Department — 参考図表「2026年第2四半期の資金循環（速報）」, September 17, 2026, 図表6-2 国債等の保有者内訳: https://www.boj.or.jp/statistics/sj/sjexp.pdf
Amounts are in trillions of yen at market value, as printed. Differences between tables (1,142 − 1,007 = 135; 150 − 80 = 70) are LeakSquare's arithmetic from rounded figures. This is a reading of public documents. It is not investment advice and makes no recommendation to buy or sell any security.