October 2018

22Oct

Aging Japan rice farmers struggle

Grain falling out of favor with young consumers A crop once deemed so important it served as a form of currency, Japanese rice has fallen out of favor with younger, Westernized consumers, in a shift that has left ageing farmers struggling for survival. Rice consumption has nearly halved over the past 50 years, and as the older generation of farmers and consumers dies out, some fear the industry will be unable to hold its own in a competitive global market. Kazuo Ogura,...

October 22, 2018
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September 2018

17Sep

Japan crosses new aging milestone, with 20% now 70 or older

Abe signals shift in priorities to easing labor shortages TOKYO -- As new estimates put the number of people in Japan age 70 or older at more than a fifth of the population for the first time, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is signaling a renewed focus on contending with the economic impact of an aging labor force. The 70-and-over segment of the population grew to an estimated 26.18 million, or 20.7%, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported Sunday. That marks an...

September 17, 2018
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August 2018

22Aug

Japan. The World’s Biggest Pension Fund Needs U.S. Bull Run to Last

The world’s biggest pension fund, always a giant within its home country of Japan, has been expanding its reach in other stock markets -- and becoming increasingly dependent on a U.S. bull run that’s poised to be the longest in history. The $1.4 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund has doubled its foreign shares since a strategy overhaul in 2014, and is now a top 10 holder in more than 260 companies outside Japan, according to a Bloomberg analysis of GPIF’s...

August 22, 2018
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09Aug

Why the World’s Biggest Pension Fund Should Buy More Junk Bonds

A former senior economist at the Federal Reserve suggests that the world’s largest pension fund should step out of its comfort zone. Yoshio Nozawa, who researched corporate bond spreads for the Fed over the past five years, said Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund and its peers should buy more high-yield bonds and alternative assets such as real estate. The pension fund’s long-term performance of its 158.6 trillion yen ($1.43 trillion) in assets is more important than quarterly results, he said. “Investors...

August 9, 2018
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01Aug

Japan. Behind the Scenes / Only 40% pay national pension premiums

With many people, including the self-employed, not paying into the national pension plan, the system is becoming increasingly hollowed out. The officially announced payment rate is in the 60 percent range, but the actual situation is worse. The risk is growing that many elderly people will only be able to receive a meager pension in the future. Up for 6 straight years The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced in June that the national pension premium payment rate (see below) in...

August 1, 2018
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July 2018

13Jul

Japan pension funds raise alternatives exposure to record high in 2017 survey finds

Japanese pension funds raised their allocation to alternative investments to a record 17.1% of total assets last year in a bid to boost returns, according to findings from a survey by JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM). At the same time, their allocation to Japanese government bonds (JGBs) declined to an all-time low as the central bank’s prolonged negative interest rate took a toll on return targets. JPMAM polled 123 Japanese defined-benefit pension funds and mutual aid pension funds between March...

July 13, 2018
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January 2018

08Jan

Securing the Future for Old Age in the Asia and Pacific Region: Short-Term and Historical Challenges

By Christian Aspalter (BNU-HKBU United International College, Zhuhai, China) This paper sets out to summarize major conundrums, and some of their solutions, in pension reform policy of the years ahead, with particular reference to the Asia-Pacific Region, and here again, Japan and Thailand. The repercussions for non-action pertaining to the reform and overhaul of public pension systems go far beyond the realm of social policy and economic development. The twin-issue of old-age poverty and fiscal sustainability of public pension systems...

January 8, 2018
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01Jan

Japan. ESG investing for innovation

By Peter David Pedersen I imagine most people know about the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and, possibly, ESG investment. From working as a strategic advisor on corporate sustainability in Japan since the mid-1990s, I feel these two concepts represent major drivers of innovation for businesses across the world. ESG investment is a global movement that picked up speed around 2006, when the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) were launched at the New York Stock Exchange with more than 100 institutional investors as...

January 1, 2018
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December 2017

18Dec

Japanese pension fund to shoulder costs of Bank of Japan’s negative rate

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest pension fund, has decided to shoulder the costs charged on its deposits under the central bank’s negative rate policy, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. GPIF entrusts its deposits to a trust bank arm of Mitsubishi Financial Group (8306.T), which had been wearing the cost of a 0.1 percent charge the BOJ imposes on a portion of excess reserves parked with the central bank. The Nikkei newspaper reported earlier that...

December 18, 2017
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15Dec

World’s Biggest Pension Fund Says AI Will Replace Asset Managers

Hiromichi Mizuno was named chief investment officer of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s biggest manager of retirement savings, in 2014. He has since led a push to increase equity holdings and advocated for incorporating ESG, or environmental, social and governance, factors into investing. Question: What are the biggest changes in the investment world you see coming in the next five to 10 years? Mizuno: Adoption of technology, including AI and ESG integration into all asset classes. I believe artificial intelligence...

December 15, 2017
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