Japan's 5-year government bond yield rose 3.0 bps intraday to 2.430%, a record high.

SME Daily on the 28th cited industry sources saying SK Hynix has begun preliminary construction, including foundation work, at a wafer fab site in Japan’s Tohoku region. Sources say it is unclear whether the project would be run independently or in partnership with Kioxia. SK Hynix states the Japan memory-fab project remains under evaluation with no further progress. The company is also asking Korean component suppliers to ramp output to address memory-chip shortages. If confirmed, the site would accelerate deployment of memory capacity in Northeast Japan and, alongside TSMC’s Kyushu and Rapidus’s Hokkaido projects, form a Japan semiconductor production triangle.

Bank of Japan minutes: some members said consumer prices are showing signs of rising, reflecting higher import costs.