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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

Almost one-third of respondents (29%) have an environmental, social and governance (ESG) policy in place for their alternative investments, and another third plan to implement an ESG policy over the next five years, said a survey.

The most common reason why survey respondents are considering ESG investments is due to their status as the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UN PRI)signatories, said the survey conducted by Preqin in Q1 of this year of a variety of Japan-based institutional investors.

According to Preqin, the increasing emphasis placed on ESG can be seen in the steady growth of UN PRI signatories among Japan-based investors. Back in September 2015, there were only 34 UN PRI signatories located in Japan.

By March 2019, this figure had doubled and Japan emerged as the only country in Asia to make it into the top 10 UN PRI signatories.

Being part of a unified body such as UN PRI serves as motivation for Japan-based investors to continue their responsible investing efforts, and offers them the opportunity to collaborate across the UN PRI network.

Between environmental, social and governance factors, the majority (52%) of survey respondents told us that socially responsible investing was their highest priority when making ESG investments. This could well be linked to Japan's longstanding social issues of low fertility rates and an ageing population; since Japan's economy is highly correlated to its ......................

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