The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the oil-rich nation’s sovereign wealth fund, is planning to triple its investment in Japan to $48 billion, highlighting a global investment shift away from U.S. assets.The Kuwait sovereign wealth fund already has $15 billion to $16 billion invested in Japan, but Kuna, the nation’s state news agency, quoted Finance Minister Mustapha al-Shamali, as saying that the “KIA has an intention to double or triple its investment in the Japanese market.”

That investment boost would follow Japan’s recent agreement with Kuwait to reduce – or end – double taxation on interest, dividends, and capital gains. Japan has similar agreements with about 60 countries, but the deal with Kuwait is the Asian nation’s first with a Middle-Eastern state, according…