Japan will promote its massive pension fund to increase alternative asset allocations.

According to reports, Japan aims to increase the proportion of unlisted stocks, real estate, and other alternative investments in its world's largest pension fund - the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) investment portfolio. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso has been trying to boost the weak yen, and on Friday he stated that the government aims to "significantly" increase investments in domestic assets by the 1.8 trillion dollar GPIF and other national pension funds, sparking a jump in the yen and Japanese government bond prices. Alternative investments accounted for 1.7% of GPIF assets in March, well below the 5% maximum allowed. A government panel will soon compile a report specifying an increase in this proportion to be close to 5%, with the aim of expanding the scope of pension fund asset management and reducing overall investment risk.