[1/2] A man walks past a signboard of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and MUFG Bank at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 3, 2018. Globally bonds have been heavily sold for weeks - prompting the Bank of Japan to step in to steady the JGB market - as investors reckon on interest rates around the world staying elevated. The lingering concerns, coupled with the prospect of further central bank policy tweaks, are likely to keep investors on guard against buying JGBs," he said. Even if the BOJ raises short-term rates, it will probably have to maintain the YCC framework to avoid any abrupt rise in long-term interest rates, Seki said. The BOJ will have no choice but to engage with long-term rates "because the complete removal of a target band could cause volatility in yield curve and sharp spikes in long-term interest rates," he said.

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Persons: Toru Hanai, Hiroyuki Seki, Seki, Makiko Yamazaki, Ritsuko Shimizu, Leika Kihara, Muralikumar Organizations: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, MUFG Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Bank of, Bank of Japan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, U.S