SINGAPORE (REUTERS) - Fullerton Fund Management, a unit of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, is opening an office in Tokyo to take advantage of Japanese investors putting their money in Asian stocks and bonds.

The Japan office, its second international office after China, will be headed by Mr Fumio Izumi, representative director for Fullerton's Japan business.

"We received our first mandate from Japan in 2005 and, over the years, have continued to see strong growth in assets under management from Japanese investors," said Mr Manraj Sekhon, Fullerton's chief executive and chief investment officer in a statement.

"With an increasing need to achieve higher yields, Japanese investors are diversifying beyond domestic asset classes into international strategies, including Asian equities and fixed income." Fullerton, which serves largely institutional investors, has S$12 billion in assets under management.

The Japanese mutual fund market grew by a record amount in 2013, boosting overall asset size above 80 trillion yen (S$980 billion) for the first time in more than six years as strong equity prices and a weaker yen spurred inflows.