Abe appoints Shiozaki as new health and welfare minister supervising GPIF fund

FXStreet (Bali) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a new cabinet Wednesday, with former Deputy Policy Chief, Mr. Shiozaki, confirmed as the new Minister of Health, Welfare, and Labor.

As Nomura noted earlier on the day "Mr. Shiozaki has been driving discussions on the GPIF's reform, and is showing a positive stance on the GPIF's portfolio allocation and governance reform. Thus, his appointment as Minister of Health, Welfare, and Labor will be regarded as positive for GPIF reform."

As reported by the WSJ: "Yasuhisa Shiozaki as Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare is a signal that the administration is looking to push ahead with reforming the country’s ¥127 trillion public pension reserve fund, the Government Pension Investment Fund. The administration has pushed for the fund to diversify away from having more than half of its portfolio in domestic bonds, a stance Mr. Shiozaki has supported. Stock investors will likely take the appointment positively, as market participants take it as a sign the fund will move towards investing more in equities."