Japan’s finance minister Katayama said on Friday the government wants pension
funds, including the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), to increase
allocations to domestic financial assets to ensure the public directly benefits
from Japan’s economic growth. Her remarks pushed the yen to a session high of
161.63 per dollar. Katayama said encouraging households and pensions to invest
more in Japanese assets is a priority and that the government will implement
policies to support that goal, signaling an intent to channel more household and
institutional savings into domestic markets as Japan moves toward positive
interest rates and gradual Bank of Japan policy normalization.
