Amundi is warming to Japanese government bonds (JGBs) for the first time in three decades as Europe’s biggest asset manager joins a growing group of foreign investors taking a long-term bullish view on the nation’s debt.

Amundi, which oversees $2.8 trillion in client assets, shifted last week into a “slightly overweight” position compared with the benchmarks it tracks and will gradually go long on Japanese debt in some of its global fixed-income and diversified portfolios, Chief Investment Officer Vincent Mortier said in an interview.

“This is the first time in 30 years that we are liking JGBs,” he said.

Political stability, an improving economy and a push to raise interest rates by the Bank of Japan are luring investors such as Amundi and Jupiter Asset Management. Unpredictable policymaking in Washington is encouraging portfolio managers to look beyond U.S. assets, while the years of rock-bottom returns that crushed overseas interest appear to have ended.

A key trigger for Amundi’s move was Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide victory in the Lower House election earlier this month, Mortier said.

“We have clarity on policymaking after the election, and in particular, the management of debt and the commitments from Takaichi on the way to finance her program,” he said. “What we have seen is reassuring.”

The French asset manager started out the year slightly underweight on JGBs in its global portfolio.

Yields on 30-year Japanese bonds have tumbled about 60 basis points over the past month, reversing a surge in the run-up to the Feb. 8 vote that took them to their highest level in decades.

Now, Amundi is putting on a steepening position, buying 10-year bonds while selling the 30-year maturity ones. The 10-year yield has tumbled to around 2.1%, from nearly 2.4% just a month ago.

“If JGB rates were to drift higher, we are pretty convinced it would trigger some interest from buyers that will push rates back to where they are,” he said. Current yields are “quite fair” for 10-year bonds, he added.

Mortier is betting that improving returns on Japanese bonds will encourage long-term domestic investors to bring their assets back home. A stronger government is likely to calm the market after more than a year of dramatic market moves, he said.

“For the first time, it’s more interesting for Japanese investors to buy JGBs than to buy foreign bonds,” he said.