Japanese stocks and bonds fell on Thursday and the yen remained fragile as investors weighed the economic impact of the prolonged Middle East conflict. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield rose 4.5 basis points (bps) to 2.260 percent as the yen traded near a 20-month low against the dollar. Investors wanted to reduce positions ahead of a three-day weekend as they weigh risks from the war in the Middle East,” said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities. [...]