By Rocky Swift TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese government bonds remained stable on Friday, after a volatile week in which super-long yields hit record highs as inflation and fiscal concerns sapped demand for debt.

Japan’s consumer inflation gathered pace in April due to higher energy and food prices, although it is unclear if this will pave the way for more monetary tightening by the Bank of Japan.

From the BBC World Service: Japan's inflation rate is heating up, which could mean higher interest rates for the first time in years.

The government has been releasing some of its stockpiled rice since March, but that has yet to translate to lower prices. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The price of Japanese-grown rice is soaring due to high inflation, low farm yields and a growing tourism sector.

"Major financial events often happen first in Japan, for example the late-1990s tech bubble bursting first in Japan," Albert Edwards wrote Thursday.

Japan's historic shift away from negative rates and yield curve control marks a turning point, ending decades of ultra-expansionary monetary policy. Read more about it here.

Bank of Japan (BoJ) board member Asahi Noguchi said on Thursday that the Japanese economy is growing steadily. Noguchi further stated that the central bank is likely to keep adjusting the policy rate, while carefully assessing whether underlying inflation would be stabilising around 2%.