The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has room to buy as much as ¥12.3 trillion ($76 billion) of additional government bonds without changing its asset allocation mix, according to Societe Generale, offering potential support for the debt market.

The projection assumes that one of the world’s largest pension funds gradually increases its domestic bond holdings to the upper end of its existing allocation band, lifting the weighting to 31% from 26.9% as of March, strategists including Stephen Spratt said in a note. Reuters reported on Monday that Japan has no plans to alter the GPIF’s benchmark portfolio allocations but is exploring ways to encourage greater domestic investment within the existing framework.

The estimate follows Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama’s call last week for Japan’s large pension funds, including the GPIF, to increase investment in domestic assets. Her comments fueled speculation that the government was seeking to channel more institutional money into Japan’s bond market and support the yen, although expectations are that a near-term change to the GPIF’s strategic asset allocation remains unlikely.