Major Japanese life insurance companies have indicated plans to maintain or expand their domestic bond purchases in the second half of the current fiscal year, potentially supporting demand for Japanese government bond (JGB) auctions. Among them, Japan Post Insurance plans to increase its purchases of yen-denominated bonds, Taiyo Life Insurance has raised its target for domestic bond holdings (primarily corporate bonds), and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance intends to keep its JGB holdings unchanged while replacing lower-yielding issues. This follows Tuesday's 20-year JGB auction, which saw a record-high bid-to-cover ratio, and four consecutive months of net purchases of super long-term JGBs by life insurers, signaling a recovery in demand. Super long-term JGB yields have recently approached multi-decade highs, attracting capital back into the domestic bond market.