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The researchers will present their research next week at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas.

Christian Werling, one of the three students at Technische Universität Berlin who conducted the research along with another independent researcher, said that their attack requires physical access to the car, but that’s exactly the scenario where their jailbreak would be useful.

“We are not the evil outsider, but we’re actually the insider, we own the car,” Werling told TechCrunch in an interview ahead of the conference. “And we don’t want to pay these $300 for the rear heated seats.”

The technique they used to jailbreak the Tesla is called voltage glitching. Werling explained that what they did was “fiddle around” with the supply voltage of the AMD processor that runs the infotainment system.

“If we do it at the right moment, we can trick the CPU into doing something else. It has a hiccup, skips an instruction and accepts our manipulated code. That’s basically what we do in a nutshell,” he said.

With the same technique, the researchers said they were also able to extract the encryption key used to authenticate the car to Tesla’s network. In theory, this would open the door for a series of other attacks, but the researchers said they still have to explore the possibilities in this scenario.

The researchers said they were also able to extract personal information from the car such as contacts, recent calendar appointments, call logs, locations the car visited, Wi-Fi passwords and session tokens from email accounts, among others. This is data that could be attractive to people who don’t own that particular car, but still have physical access to it.

Mitigating the hardware-based attack that the researchers achieved is not simple. In fact, the researchers said, Tesla would have to replace the hardware in question.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

he floating barrier, which is intended to block migrants crossing from Mexico, was installed last month without federal authorization, according to the US Justice Department, which is suing the state of Texas over its use of the buoys.

The Mexican government has also decried Abbott’s decision to float the buoys. Last week, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Alicia Bárcena Ibarra said her country had sent its second diplomatic note to the US complaining about the barriers.

They not only violate two treaties between the US and Mexico, she said, but a slide that accompanied her remarks claimed that a portion of the 305 meters of deployed buoy is on “Mexican territory.”

López Obrador on Thursday warned that the buoys violated Mexico’s “sovereignty and human rights,” adding that “we are already demanding that these buoys be removed.”

In two separate cases in the Southern and Central Districts of California, two U.S. Navy servicemembers were arrested for transmitting sensitive military information to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

“These individuals stand accused of violating the commitments they made to protect the United States and betraying the public trust, to the benefit of the PRC government,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to use every tool in our arsenal to counter threats from China and to deter those who aid them in breaking our laws and threatening our national security.”

“These arrests are a reminder of the relentless, aggressive efforts of the People’s Republic of China to undermine our democracy and threaten those who defend it,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The PRC compromised enlisted personnel to secure sensitive military information that could seriously jeopardize U.S. national security. The FBI and our partners remain vigilant in our determination to combat espionage, and encourage past and present government officials to report any suspicious interactions with suspected foreign intelligence officers.”

United States v. Jinchao Wei, Southern District of California

A U.S. Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, aka Patrick Wei, was arrested yesterday on espionage charges as he arrived for work at Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of the Pacific Fleet. He was indicted for conspiracy to send national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the People’s Republic of China.

The indictment, unsealed this morning, alleges that Wei, was an active-duty sailor on the amphibious assault ship the U.S.S. Essex stationed at Naval Base San Diego. In his role as a machinist’s mate, Wei held a U.S. security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems. Amphibious assault ships like the Essex resemble small aircraft carriers and allow the U.S. military to project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the U.S. Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities.

According to the indictment, in February 2022, Wei began communicating with an intelligence officer from the PRC who requested that Wei provide information about the U.S.S. Essex and other Navy ships. Specifically, the Chinese intelligence officer tasked Wei with passing him photos, videos and documents concerning U.S. Navy ships and their systems. The two agreed to hide their communications by deleting records of their conversations and using encrypted methods of communication.

At the request of the intelligence officer, between March 2022 and the present, Wei sent photographs and videos of the Essex, disclosed the locations of various Navy ships and described defensive weapons of the Essex. In exchange for this information, the intelligence officer paid Wei thousands of dollars over the course of the conspiracy.

The indictment further alleges that in June 2022, Wei sent the intelligence officer approximately 30 technical and mechanical manuals. These manuals contained export control warnings and detailed the operations of multiple systems aboard the Essex and similar ships, including power, steering, aircraft and deck elevators, as well as damage and casualty controls. The intelligence officer confirmed with Wei that at least 10 of those manuals were useful to him. For passage of those materials, the indictment alleges that Wei was paid $5,000.

In June 2022, the intelligence officer requested that Wei provide information about the number and training of U.S. Marines during an upcoming international maritime warfare exercise. In response to this request, Wei sent multiple photographs of military equipment to the intelligence officer.

In August 2022, Wei sent an additional 26 technical and mechanical manuals related to the power structure and operation of the Essex and similar ships. The manuals contained warnings that this was technical data subject to export controls and that it was deemed “critical technology” by the U.S. Navy.

The indictment further alleges that in October 2022, Wei sent a technical manual to the intelligence officer describing the layout and location of certain departments, including berthing quarters and weapons systems. Specifically, Wei sent a weapons control systems manual for the Essex and similar ships. This manual contained export-controlled data that could not be exported without a license from the U.S. government. The indictment alleges that Wei knowingly violated the International Traffic in Arms Regulations by transmitting this manual to the Chinese intelligence officer without obtaining a required license.

The intelligence officer continued to request information in 2023, including information about the overhaul and upgrades to the Essex. Specifically, he requested blueprints, especially those related to modifications to the flight deck. Wei provided information related to the repairs the Essex was undergoing, as well as other mechanical problems with similar vessels.

During the alleged conspiracy, the intelligence officer instructed Wei to gather U.S. military information that was not public and admonished him not to discuss their relationship and to destroy any evidence regarding the nature of their relationship and their activities.

“We have entrusted members of our military with tremendous responsibility and great faith,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “Our nation’s safety and security are in their hands. When a soldier or sailor chooses cash over country, and hands over national defense information in an ultimate act of betrayal, the United States will aggressively investigate and prosecute.”

U.S. Attorney Grossman thanked the prosecution team and investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.

The FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Parmley and Fred Sheppard for the Southern District of California and Trial Attorney Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

United States v. Wenheng Zhao, Central District of California

A U.S. Navy servicemember, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, aka Thomas Zhao, 26, of Monterey Park, California, was arrested following an indictment by a federal grand jury, charging him with receiving bribes in exchange for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to an individual posing as a maritime economic researcher, but who was actually an intelligence officer from the PRC.

The indictment alleges that Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a U.S. security clearance, received bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for violating his official duties as a U.S. sailor by, among other actions, disclosing non-public sensitive U.S. military information.

Beginning in August 2021 and continuing through at least May 2023, at the Chinese intelligence officer’s direction, Zhao allegedly violated his official duties to protect sensitive military information by surreptitiously recording, and then transmitting to the intelligence officer, U.S. military information, photographs and videos. According to the indictment, the Chinese intelligence officer told Zhao that the intelligence officer was a maritime economic researcher seeking the information for investment decisions.

In exchange for bribes, Zhao allegedly sent the Chinese military officer non-public and controlled operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region, which detailed the specific location and timing of Naval force movements, amphibious landings, maritime operations and logistics support.

The indictment further alleges that in exchange for bribes, Zhao also photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.

The intelligence officer allegedly directed Zhao to conceal their relationship and to destroy evidence of the unlawful and corrupt scheme.

In exchange for the sensitive information Zhao provided – information Zhao accessed as a result of his position within the U.S. Navy – the Chinese intelligence officer paid Zhao approximately $14,866, the indictment alleges.

“By sending this sensitive military information to an intelligence officer employed by a hostile foreign state, the defendant betrayed his sacred oath to protect our country and uphold the Constitution,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “Unlike the vast majority of U.S. Navy personnel who serve the nation with honor, distinction and courage, Mr. Zhao chose to corruptly sell out his colleagues and his country.”

If convicted, Zhao faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division and NCIS investigated the case. IRS Criminal Investigation provided substantial assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annamartine Salick, Sarah Gerdes, Christine Ro and Kathrynne Seiden of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case. Trial Attorney Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section is providing substantial assistance.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Updated August 3, 2023

Twitter is threatening legal action against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit that researches hate speech and content moderation on social media platforms.

The letter from Twitter's lawyers alleges that CCDH's research publications are intended to 'harm Twitter's business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.'

This is a pretty bold move from Twitter, especially considering that CCDH is a well-respected organization that has been doing this kind of research for years. And it's especially ironic coming from Elon Musk, who has said that he's a 'free speech absolutist.'

But Musk has also shown that he's sensitive to criticism, so it's not surprising that he's taking this kind of action against CCDH

The flight out of China marked the end of a harrowing ordeal for the Taiwanese businessman who had been held in the country for more than 1,400 days.

"I felt a huge relief after going through the passport check, and I cried a little," he told the BBC this week. "I have returned to the free world."

Mr Lee was arrested and jailed in 2019 after he snapped pictures of police officers in Shenzhen. He was accused of espionage and stealing state secrets - a charge he now denies.

He was released from jail in July 2021, but was prevented from leaving China as he was "deprived of political rights".

It is rare for Beijing to impose this penalty, which includes an exit ban, on convicts who are not mainland Chinese nationals. Activists say that Mr Lee's Taiwanese identity may have prompted authorities to make a political point, amid escalating tensions.

Taiwan regards itself as a self-ruled island, distinct from mainland China, with its own laws and democratically elected leader.

However, China sees island as a breakaway province that will eventually be brought under Beijing's control, by force if necessary.

China and Taiwan: A really simple guide What's behind China-Taiwan tensions? Like the thousands of Taiwanese who do business in China, Mr Lee visited the country on a work trip in August 2019. At the time he was working for a tech company.

He was no stranger to China, as he previously worked and lived in the eastern city of Suzhou, and also travelled to mainland China about twice a year.

When he visited tensions were running high because Hong Kong was engulfed in the most widespread pro-democracy protests it had ever seen. Almost every weekend, the city saw increasingly violent clashes between the police and protesters.

Curious and sympathetic to the protesters' cause, Mr Lee made a brief detour to Hong Kong, where he watched a rally from the sidelines and passed out pamphlets with messages of support. Then, he went to neighbouring Shenzhen in mainland China to meet a colleague.

At that time, hundreds of armed police officers gathered and armoured vehicles were on display at a stadium in Shenzhen. Many were worried that Beijing would send in these forces to quell the protests in Hong Kong.

The businessman spotted the activity from his hotel room window, so he walked over to the stadium and took some photos. He said there were no warning signs and he didn't cross the police cordon. Many others were also photographing the scene, he said.

Mr Lee denies he was spying. "I am only a curious passer-by… if it really were some state secret, how could everything be seen from a hotel?"

The Shenzhen gathering of police forces was photographed by many people, including news agencies When he was departing Shenzhen, ten video cameras he was transporting back to Taiwan for his business caught the attention of airport officials.

They stopped him to search his luggage and his phone, and found his pamphlets as well as the photos of police forces at the Shenzhen stadium.

National security officers then brought him to a hotel to undergo "residential surveillance at a designated location". For 72 days, he was not allowed to leave his room and watched by three people every day. He wasn't allowed to watch TV, read newspapers, open the curtains or even speak.

"I was actually looking forward to their questioning every day, or otherwise no one was willing to speak to me,"Mr Lee said. "Every day I had nothing to do so I just cleaned the floor, under the bed and the ceiling. It was painful."

Activists say Beijing often uses this secretive and arbitrary form of detention against those accused of national security offences. They can be held for months without trial.

Mr Lee was then whisked off to a detention centre, and only resurfaced months later.

He appeared on state broadcaster CCTV saying he felt sorry for "doing some harm to the motherland".

Mr Lee told the BBC he apologised in the hopes that he would be released as soon as possible. "You couldn't be bothered by things like dignity."

But soon after, he went on trial and was sentenced to one year and ten months in jail for "foreign espionage and illegally sending state secrets".

Chinese state media ran extensive reports about his case, alleging he had taken the pictures of the Shenzhen stadium to send to Taiwanese groups.

They also cited the fact that he had studied in the US and was a member of Taiwanese non-governmental organisations to allege he was a Taiwan independence activist, which Mr Lee denies.

Mr Lee served his sentence in a Guangdong jail, where he was crammed into a small cell with 15 other prisoners. But for him, prison was an improvement from residential surveillance - at least he had company.

He was put to work in a production line and had to wrap computer cables every day. If they failed to finish their tasks on time, they would be physically punished, he said.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office has not responded to the BBC's questions. The BBC has not been able to independently verify all of Mr Lee's claims, but his account of his time in detention is similar to those shared by other detainees.

Taiwan sees MeToo outpouring after Netflix show How China calibrates its Taiwan response During his trial Mr Lee had been sentenced to "deprivation of political rights". At the time he did not give it too much thought, he said, as he did not see himself as a Chinese citizen in the first place.

But a month before his scheduled release, he was shocked to find out that he couldn't leave the mainland for another two years.

Yaqiu Wang of Human Rights Watch said that in Mr Lee's case, "the Chinese government wanted to make a point that he's a Chinese citizen".

It is difficult to ascertain the number of Taiwan-linked individuals arrested in China for national security offences. However, it is "reasonable" to assume the number is increasing amid worsening relations between Beijing and Taipei, she said.

In April, Taiwan-based publisher Fucha, who often printed books critical of Beijing, was held for an investigation for endangering national security. Earlier that month, Taiwanese activist Yang Chih-yuan was charged with secession.

The difference in the Chinese authorities' treatment of Mr Lee compared to previous cases may also be a sign that they are getting tougher on Taiwanese detainees.

Iranian authorities are again cracking down on women breaking the country’s strict dress code as they try to reassert control after last year’s momentous protests that were rooted in demands for more freedoms in the Islamic Republic.

This week, authorities shut down an office of the country’s leading e-commerce business, Digikala, popularly known as Iran’s Amazon, after its female staff was seen on social media without the obligatory headscarf, or hijab. They have also reinstated widely reviled street patrols to enforce the country’s Islamic dress code, and shut hundreds of cafes, restaurants and amusement parks where staffers were seen to violate it.

Police recently closed a new hair salon after a video of unveiled women at its opening celebration went viral, and punishments for violations are increasingly designed to attract public attention.

This month a court sentenced a woman to a month of washing and preparing corpses for burial, after she was caught driving without her headscarf in a city south of the capital, Tehran. Another woman was sentenced to 270 hours of cleaning government-owned buildings for allegedly flouting the hijab law.

The fresh pressure on Iranians comes after the country’s police said this month that officers would resume street patrols to uphold the dress code, which requires women to cover their hair with a headscarf and the shape of their bodies with loose clothing. Men have been scolded for wearing shorts.

The mercury in many areas of eastern and western Japan topped 38 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

A daytime high of 38.6 degrees was recorded in Isesaki City, Gunma Prefecture. Yorii Town in Saitama Prefecture logged 38.5 degrees, and Fukushima City registered 38.2 degrees.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says the intense heat will continue through Friday next week.

The agency and the Environment Ministry warn that risks of developing heatstroke will be extremely high on Sunday. Heatstroke alerts have been issued for 32 prefectures.

Environment Ministry officials say the death toll from heatstroke tends to surge during heat waves. An increasing number of people have been coming down with heatstroke, and some of them have died.

They advise people to avoid going out unless absolutely necessary, use air-conditioning appropriately and keep hydrated.

A new law in Israel has taken away the court's power to veto government decisions based on them being "unreasonable."

Millions of Israelis opposed the change, which critics say would erode the independence of the courts and harm Israel's democracy.

Nearly 10,000 military reservists have said they will refuse to volunteer for duty if the law is not repealed.

The military has pleaded with reservists to remain in their posts, but the number of refusers is growing.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has spoken with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and reiterated the US's commitment to Israel's security.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the IDF to "stay out of any political controversy."

The Israeli Air Force, which makes up one third of the IDF's manpower, is among those threatening to quit.

Kuwait announced this week that it will print thousands of copies of the Quran in Swedish to be distributed in the Nordic country, calling it an effort to educate the Swedish people on Islamic "values of coexistence." The plan was announced after the desecration of a Quran during a one-man anti-Islam protest that Swedish police authorized in Stockholm last month.

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said the Public Authority for Public Care would print and distribute 100,000 translated copies of the Muslim holy book in Sweden, to "affirm the tolerance of the Islamic religion and promote values of coexistence among all human beings," according to the country's state news agency Kuna.

On June 28, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi Christian who had sought asylum in Sweden on religious grounds, stood outside the Stockholm Central Mosque and threw a copy of the Quran into the air and burned some of its pages.

The stunt came on the first day of Eid-al-Adha, one of the most important festivals on the Islamic calendar, and it triggered anger among Muslims worldwide. Protests were held in many Muslim nations, including Iraq, where hundreds of angry demonstrators stormed the Swedish embassy compound.

CBS News sought comment from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Kuwaiti government's announcement, but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

The U.S. State Department condemned the desecration of the Quran in Stockholm, but said Swedish authorities were right to authorize the small protest where it occurred.

"We believe that demonstration creates an environment of fear that will impact the ability of Muslims and members of other religious minority groups from freely exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief in Sweden," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. "We also believe that issuing the permit for this demonstration supports freedom of expression and is not an endorsement of the demonstration's actions."

The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution Wednesday condemning the burning of the Quran as an act of religious hatred. The U.S. and a handful of European nations voted against the resolution, which was introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), arguing that it contradicts their perspectives on human rights and freedom of expression.

GENEVA — The remains of a German mountain climber who disappeared while hiking along a glacier near Switzerland’s iconic Matterhorn mountain in 1986 have been recovered, as melting glaciers have led to the reemergence of bodies and objects thought to be long-lost.

The grisly discovery was made on July 12 by climbers hiking along the Theodul Glacier in Zermatt, police in the Valais canton said on Thursday.

“DNA analysis enabled the identification of a mountain climber who had been missing since 1986,” the police said in a statement.

The police did not provide additional information on the climber’s identity nor on the circumstances of his death. It published, however, a picture of a lone hiking boot with red laces sticking out of the snow that had belonged to the missing person.

The climber’s remains underwent a forensic analysis at Valais Hospital, allowing experts to link them to the 1986 disappearance, the police said.

Shrinking glaciers due to climate change have led to the discovery of bodies of climbers who disappeared over the last decades.

In 2015, the remains of two young Japanese climbers who went missing on the Matterhorn in a 1970 snowstorm were found and their identities confirmed through the DNA testing of their relatives.

Last year Switzerland’s glaciers registered their worst melt rate since records began more than a century ago, losing 6% of their remaining volume -- nearly double the previous record in 2003.

An Australian army helicopter ditched into the waters off Australia’s northeast coast during a nighttime training mission, leaving four crew members missing and prompting military officials to pause a broader, large-scale multinational defense exercise on Saturday. Ditching refers to a difficult emergency landing on water.

U.S. and Australian personnel have been conducting a search but have not yet found the missing crew, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Saturday.

“I know I speak on behalf of all four of us when I say that our thoughts and prayers are very much with the missing aircrew and their families,” Marles told reporters at a news conference in Brisbane, Australia, standing next to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who pledged any assistance needed to find the missing crew.

The MRH-90 Taipan helicopter ditched near Hamilton Island in Queensland just after 10:30 p.m. local time on Friday, Australian officials said. Search efforts began immediately thanks to another helicopter that had been flying next to the downed chopper. Australian officials said they have paused the Talisman Saber exercise, a multinational drill that began last week.

Although the exercise is primarily a bilateral drill between Australian and American troops, it involves more than 30,000 troops from 13 countries, including those from several Asian partners and NATO member states. The biennial drill is the largest combined training involving Australia and the United States.

“The United States has no closer or more reliable ally than Australia,” Blinken told reporters.

Cooperation between the countries expanded two years ago, when they and Britain made a deal, called AUKUS, to deepen their partnership on security issues. One key part of the deal was for Australia to acquire nuclear submarines using U.S. technology, a plan that would help the United States expand its power projection into the Pacific as worries grow about China.

The leaders announced a slew of investments and defense cooperation in the air, sea, land and in space, all aimed at bolstering the security relationship between the two countries, which they noted had fought side-by-side in every war for more than a century. Now the joint threats are focused on Russia and China, and they said that the Australian-U. S. relationship has a key role to play in addressing the challenge.

The MRH-90 helicopter has been the subject of controversy. Although Australia’s military bought almost four dozen of them for the army and navy, the Defense Ministry listed the acquisition as a “project of concern” in 2011. Multiple equipment malfunctions and crashes, including one in March, have compelled officials to ground the fleet several times.

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The Bank of Japan’s latest relaxation of its cap on bond yields will enhance the returns on offer on the country’s debt, leading some investors to forecast that a “great repatriation” of Japanese investment flows is set to accelerate. 

The policy shift comes at a time when overseas debt has become an increasingly unappealing prospect for many Japanese investors because of the soaring cost of hedging against swings in the value of the yen.

Many big Japanese investors, such as insurers, routinely hedge their currency exposure when they buy foreign bonds. Rising interest rates in the rest of the developed world have sharply driven up the cost of doing so, more than cancelling out the growing yield gap between Japan and other economies, making Japan’s low-yielding bond market appear relatively attractive.

The currency-hedged yield on a 10-year Treasury fell below the equivalent Japanese bond yield late last year, according to data from Apollo, and a gulf has opened between the two markets since then.

“It hasn’t made sense for Japanese investors to own Treasuries and [German] Bunds, they would rather buy Japanese government bonds — which is what everyone was doing,” said Mohit Kumar, managing director at Jefferies.

Japanese investors are some of the biggest owners of bonds in the US and Europe, after years of a strong currency and higher returns elsewhere had made foreign assets more attractive to own. According to Commerzbank research, Japanese investors owned more than $2tn in foreign long-term debt securities at the end of 2022, with large holdings in the US, France, the Netherlands and Germany.

But Japanese investors have been net sellers of foreign assets over the past 18 months, said Kumar, despite soaring yields in the US and Europe and a domestic bond market where the BoJ has kept borrowing costs at very low levels.

On Friday, the BoJ took a step towards ending its ultra-loose monetary policy by saying it would tolerate yields on 10-year government bonds of up to 1 per cent, from a previous level of 0.5 per cent. The policy shift sent jitters through US and European bond markets, as traders bet that it would encourage Japanese investors to bring their cash home by further burnishing the appeal of the domestic market.

“Global yields have risen in response to the tweak in yield curve control based on the fear that higher yields in Japan may lead local investors there to invest more in Japanese government bonds and therefore sell some of their holdings of Treasuries or bunds,” said Michael Metcalfe, head of macro strategy at State Street Global Markets. 

Investors also said that a relatively strong economy and diminishing threat of deflation would tempt more investors back to Japan, including Tokyo’s high-flying stock market, where the Topix index is up more than 20 per cent this year.

The “great repatriation” of Japanese assets is just getting underway, said Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet. “People always talk about bonds, but it will also cause a re-rating of Japanese equities.”