Japan’s Top Life Insurer Says Unrealized Bond Losses Tripled (1)

Japan’s biggest life insurer said unrealized losses on its domestic bond holdings more than tripled last fiscal year as rising interest rates undercut the value of its portfolio.

Nippon Life Insurance Co., which last month outlined plans to reduce its holdings of sovereign debt, said on Friday that paper losses on Japanese bonds swelled to about ¥3.6 trillion ($25 billion) as of March.

The debt portfolio is made up mostly of Japanese government bonds, largely with maturities of 30 years, which have come under intense selling pressure recently, pushing yields to record highs. Actual losses on the sale of ...