Gross Unheeded by Japan Seeing Disinflation Buoying Bonds

Honed by 15 years of falling consumer prices that burnished the appeal of fixed-income assets in Japan, the Asian nation’s bond buyers are amassing long-term Treasuries as disinflation emerges in the U.S.

Led by Mizuho Asset Management Co., at least five money managers that oversee a combined $236 billion are snapping up Treasuries due in about a decade as inflation-adjusted yields approach the highest level since 1998 relative to Japanese government bonds. Japan’s holdings of U.S. debt rose by $98.2 billion last quarter, the second-largest increase since the Treasury Department began releasing the data in 2000.