• QHow do you exercise shareholders' voting rights?

"GPIF itself does not exercise voting rights and instead entrusts its external asset managers with the exercise of voting rights so as to avoid giving a direct influence on corporate management," as set forth in its Medium-term Plan.

The Ministry of the Health, Labour and Welfare, who is a competent government agency of GPIF, establishes GPIF's Medium-term Objectives. This stipulates that GPIF "should take appropriate measures including exercise of voting rights while giving due consideration to influence on corporate management."

According to the Medium-term Plan, "From the viewpoint of promoting our stewardship activities, GPIF shall conduct efficient engagement when entrusting an external manager, with an awareness of ESG materiality that leads to long-term investment returns. When doing so, GPIF shall clarify that stewardship activities including the exercise of voting rights by our external asset managers aim to improve long-term investment returns, for the sake of the pension beneficiaries."

Specifically, external asset managers submit the guideline for voting and annually report voting results to GPIF. GPIF holds meetings with managers on the results, and evaluates their way how a manager exercises voting rights, considering their exercise as an item of initiatives for fulfilling stewardship activities.

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