Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd. (TSE: 7182, Prime Market) told the Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 24 that unrealized losses on the domestically listed bonds it holds in its held-to-maturity portfolio reached ¥4.94tn as of June 30, 2026, the end of its first quarter for the year running to March 2027. The figure covers only the portion of its held-to-maturity holdings listed on Japanese exchanges, not the bank's entire bond book, but the number is still striking for a lender that runs one of the largest deposit-funded balance sheets in the world, built mainly from government and other fixed-income securities.
The scale becomes clearer against the bank's own results. The ¥4.94tn paper loss is equal to 940.3% of the ¥525.6bn net profit attributable to owners of the parent that Japan Post Bank reported for the year ended March 2026, and 651.0% of that year's ¥759.2bn consolidated ordinary profit. Put plainly, the unrealized loss on this one slice of the bond book is worth roughly nine and a half times everything the bank earned for shareholders last year.
Book value versus market value
The securities behind the disclosure carried a book value of ¥31.99tn against a market value of ¥27.05tn at the end of June. Japan Post Bank's disclosure form lists total unrealized gains on the same set of bonds as nil, so the net unrealized position across this portfolio slice is the full ¥4.94tn loss, with no offsetting gains elsewhere in the book to soften it.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Unrealized loss on listed held-to-maturity bonds | ¥4.94tn |
| Book value of the securities | ¥31.99tn |
| Market value of the securities | ¥27.05tn |
| Ratio to prior-year consolidated ordinary profit | 651.0% |
| Ratio to prior-year net profit attributable to owners | 940.3% |
What the bank says it means for earnings
Japan Post Bank said the matter will have no impact on its consolidated earnings forecast or dividend forecast for the year running from April 2026 to March 2027, and that it would issue a fresh disclosure "promptly" if circumstances arise that require one. The filing does not explain the accounting mechanics behind that conclusion. It also gives no comparison with prior quarters, so it is not possible from this document alone to say whether the paper loss on these bonds is growing, shrinking, or holding steady quarter to quarter.
What the filing does not cover
This is a single-issuer notice tied to a specific unrealized-loss disclosure, not a full quarterly earnings report, and the bundle contains no comment from Japan's banking regulator on the figure. The ¥4.94tn number applies specifically to held-to-maturity bonds listed on domestic exchanges; the bank's other securities holdings, including any unlisted bonds or different asset classes, sit outside this filing entirely. Japan Post Bank's only forward-looking commitment in the notice is to disclose again "promptly" if anything requiring disclosure comes up before its next scheduled report.