A recent survey indicates that Japanese companies are broadening their toolkit to address the highest borrowing costs in decades, which now includes considering the sale of strategic shareholdings and other assets to cushion the impact.

Beyond asset sales, the poll of 30 non-financial Japanese firms with outstanding yen-denominated bonds revealed other potential measures under review, such as increasing overseas borrowing and accelerating the implementation of financing plans. These findings are based on responses collected from 14 companies in August.

The survey comes as Japan's 10-year government bond yield touched 3% for the first time in 30 years this week, with the Bank of Japan's policy stance increasingly becoming a topic in US-Japan discussions. As in the past, Japanese firms hold significant sway over global markets through their responses to rising financing costs.

Among the respondents, telecom operator KDDI Corp indicated it could potentially take steps to divest assets to reduce its debt burden, while Chugoku Electric Power Co stated that rising interest rates might accelerate its plans to sell off assets and strategic holdings.