Japan public pension fund to keep asset model -Nikkei

TOKYO, March 10 (Reuters) - Japan's public pension fund, the world's largest, has decided to not change its asset allocation model for the next five years after the Health Ministry urged the fund to keep investing in safe assets, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The Government Pension Investment Fund holds assets of about $1.4 trillion, larger than the gross domestic product of India, and is a major force in financial markets, particularly the Japanese government bond market.

Its current model calls for a 67 percent weighting in domestic bonds, 11 percent in domestic stocks, 9 percent in foreign stocks and 8 percent in foreign bonds.

An official of the Health Ministry, which supervises the fund, said last month the ministry hopes the current asset allocation model, which is under review, would be the base for a new model. [ID:nTOE61PO5K]

An official at the GPIF declined to comment on the report, adding that its new allocation model will be announced before the start of the new financial year in April after receiving approval from the ministry. (Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)