National Sep 24, 2021
Pension system reform emerges as important LDP election issue
Kono called for creating a guaranteed minimum portion of public pension that is completely funded by tax revenues instead of premiums.
Business Apr 12, 2021
Japan's GPIF, forerunner on ESG investing, pulls back as trend catches on
by Shoko Oda, Emi Urabe and Chikafumi Hodo
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.
Business / Financial Markets Mar 31, 2021
World’s top pension fund faces moment of truth on China debt
by Chikafumi Hodo
The GPIF’s decision will also be crucial for other Japanese public and private pension funds which have been mulling opportunities to invest in Chinese government debt.
National Oct 25, 2020
The government will release an initial estimate in December before finalizing the figure next year but it is likely to strike a record low for the fifth consecutive year.
Business Mar 3, 2020
The government decided Tuesday to reform the pension system by expanding the range of part-time workers who can join the kōsei nenkin public pension program for corporate employees. The measure is aimed at increasing the number of people, especially women and elderly workers who tend ...
Business / Tech | Commentary Feb 5, 2020
Robots, including one by Sony, are coming for fund management jobs
by Mark Gilbert
Remember Aibo, the computerized dog Sony Corp. started selling in 1999 as the first personal robot? Hiro Mizuno, the chief investment officer of the Government Pension Investment Fund, does. So he asked Sony's computer science lab unit to build him a cyberhound using artificial ...
Business Jan 16, 2020
War of attrition: Macron plans to financially grind down French strikers
When French trade unions declared a nationwide strike to protest against planned pension reforms, Nicolas, a 34-year-old maintenance technician with the Paris metro, went on strike for three straight weeks. Then he went back to work. "It was a financial thing," he said as he ...
Business / Economy Jan 10, 2020
French unions take to streets in make-or-break pension protest
French trade unions disrupted rail services, cut power output and brought demonstrators onto the streets in cities across France on Thursday in a make-or-break push to force President Emmanuel Macron to abandon his planned pension reform. The country's hard-left unions rallied supporters hoping to regain ...
Business / Economy Jan 9, 2020
Paris shops' sales halved as strikes bring chaos to the city
Five weeks into strikes crippling French transport, Emile Sebbag is agonizing over how to keep afloat his two Parisian clothing stores, deserted by shoppers as the backlash against France's pension reform drags on. The start of winter sales on Wednesday — traditionally a big event ...
Editorials Nov 28, 2019
Widening pension coverage will not only add to the benefits irrgegular workers receive in retirement but shore up pension finances by increasing the number of participants in the program.
Business Nov 27, 2019
Japan mulls expansion of pension coverage to include more part-time workers
The government is considering incorporating more part-timers into the employee pension program by requiring companies with smaller workforces to participate, according to government sources. Currently, companies with 501 or more employees must enroll in the kōsei nenkin program. Under the plan being considered, that threshold ...
World / Social Issues Nov 22, 2019
Colombians march to keep wages and pensions intact as government warns against violence
Colombian unions, student groups and other protesters were marching on Thursday to insist the government maintain the minimum wage for young people and the universal right to a pension, even though the government says those are not part of reform plans. As tens of thousands ...