Japan pension fund's new boss unfazed by short-term market falls

Tokyo

THE new head of the world's biggest pension fund says you're more likely to find him in a Tokyo bookstore than at his desk agonising over short-term market declines.

Norihiro Takahashi joined Japan's US$1.3 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) as president on Friday after almost 35 years working at agricultural lender Norinchukin Bank. GPIF had previously hired lifers from the Bank of Japan for the top job; the 58-year-old is the first person to start the role with experience in asset management. With the slump in Japanese equities and a stronger yen likely to have caused a loss in the last quarter, he may face a fresh round of criticism that the retirement fund's investments are too risky.