For Emi Urabe's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
The sale was expected in 2019 but became difficult after the value of Japan Post shares fell sharply following a scandal over improper sales practice at its insurance unit.
As Chinese debt is being added to the FTSE Russell global bond index, the Japanese fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond Index that excludes Chinese government bonds.
The move involves the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, or PMAC, which provides pension services to private school workers.
A privatization of the subway, which carries an average of 7.56 million riders per day, has been keenly awaited for years, especially among retail investors.
Economist Heizo Takenaka has joined ruling party members calling for more spending as Japan muddles through a fourth virus emergency and voters prepare to head to the polls by fall.
Eiji Hirano says the Government Pension Investment Fund needs to "think about how to analyze if ESG is really profitable, as well as how to evaluate and standardize ESG."
Rintaro Tamaki, a former top bureaucrat at the ministry, says it should raise Japan’s already high gasoline tax and hike tariffs on imported fossil fuels.
Ex-Finance Minister Jun Azumi highlighted that recent polls showed 70% of the public are against holding the Tokyo Games.
Constrained by stricter legal restraints, the world's top pension fund has largely been quiet on impact investing since appointing a new chief investment officer in April 2020.
Some ruling party lawmakers are calling for more stimulus along the lines of the massive aid package adopted this month in the United States.
