Japanese Firms Take Global Credit by Storm With Record Sales

Debt bankers and investors are bracing for what is shaping up to be the next big trend in the global credit market: Japan Inc. raising billions abroad.

A string of recent megadeals is setting the tone. A giant sale by telecom giant NTT Inc. has already driven Japanese non-financial corporate issuance in euros and dollars to a record this year, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. One Morgan Stanley banker in London has even come up with a nickname for such bonds: reverse Samurai.