Latest Japan Headlines
All the headlines from our Japan Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Natural Catastrophes Cost $150B in 2019, with Insurers Paying $52B: Munich Re
Jan 8 2020 // Natural catastrophes caused overall losses of US$150 billion during 2019, including insured losses of about US$52 billion, which matches the average of the past 30 years, according to Munich Re’s catastrophe...
Japan Post’s Insurance Sales Suspended by Regulator; Top Executives Resign
Dec 27 2019 // The heads of Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd and two affiliates said on Friday they will resign over the improper sales of insurance policies, after the regulator announced administrative punishments against the...
Japan Post’s Share Sale Faces Delays After Scandals at Insurance Unit: Sources
Dec 24 2019 // Japan’s government is considering holding off on its plan to sell about $10 billion worth of shares in Japan Post Holdings Co. through this fiscal year following scandals involving its insurance unit, according to...
Catholic Church Abuse Allegations Being Raised in Japan
Dec 16 2019 // During Pope Francis’ recent visit to Japan, Harumi Suzuki stood where his motorcade passed by holding a sign that read: “I am a survivor.” Katsumi Takenaka stood at another spot, on another day, holding...
Regulator Weighs Halting Japan Post Insurance Sales – Nikkei
Dec 16 2019 // Japan’s financial regulator is considering ordering Japan Post and Japan Post Insurance to suspend sales of insurance policies, the Nikkei Shimbun reported Monday. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) will also seek...
New Zealand Tragedy Raising Questions About Live Volcano Tourism
Dec 11 2019 // Tourists caught in the deadly blast at New Zealand’s White Island were there despite a recent increase in volcanic activity, although experts said precise predictions on eruptions were all but impossible. Five people...
AXIS Capital’s Losses from Japan’s Typhoon Hagibis Estimated at $90M-$110M
Nov 26 2019 // AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. announced a preliminary pre-tax loss estimate for Japanese Typhoon Hagibis in the range of $90 million to $110 million, net of estimated recoveries from reinsurance and retrocessional covers, and...
Japan’s Largest Insurers Take Another Hit from Typhoon Losses
Nov 19 2019 // A string of powerful typhoons that struck Japan has left scars on the country’s non-life insurers, with industry giants likely forced to pay a combined $8 billion in insurance payments in the current fiscal year that...
Data Firm Palantir’s Partnership with Japan’s Sompo Insurance Targets Health, Cyber
Nov 18 2019 // Silicon Valley data analytics company Palantir Technologies Inc. has established a joint venture with Japanese insurance holding company Sompo Holdings Inc. that will initially focus on health and cybersecurity clients,...
Typhoon Hagibis to Cost Japan’s Economy $10B, with Insured Losses in Billions: Aon
Nov 8 2019 // Typhoon Hagibis is likely to become one of 2019’s costliest events, with economic costs of more than US$10 billion and insured losses minimally in the billions, according to Aon’s monthly catastrophe...
Insured Losses from Typhoon Hagibis Estimated at $7B-$11B: RMS
Nov 1 2019 // Insured losses stemming from Typhoon Hagibis in Japan are estimated to range between US$$7 billion and $11 billion, according to Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe modeling firm RMS. While last month’s Typhoon Faxai...
PCS Extends Catastrophe Loss Methodology to Australia, N. Zealand, SE Asia
Oct 30 2019 // Property Claims Services (PCS), a Verisk subsidiary, has extended the catastrophe loss aggregation methodology, previously developed for use in Japan, to cover more territories in the region. Starting Jan. 1, 2020, PCS...
Typhoon Hagibis Likely to Cause Earnings Event for Japan’s Insurers: Fitch
Oct 29 2019 // Typhoon Hagibis is likely to be an earnings event for Japan’s three main non-life insurance groups, MS&AD Insurance Groups Holdings, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance...
Torrential Rain Causes Flooding, Mudslides in Japan, Killing at Least 10
Oct 28 2019 // Torrential rain that caused flooding and mudslides in towns east of Tokyo left at least 10 people dead and added fresh damage in areas still recovering from recent typhoons, officials said Saturday. Rescue workers found...
Reinsurers’ Earnings to Be Hit After 3rd Year of Major Claims: AM Best
Oct 23 2019 // Reinsurers’ earnings are likely to see further erosion in 2019 after another year of major catastrophe losses, which is prolonging the positive momentum for reinsurance pricing, according to AM Best. “Three...
Insured Losses from Japan’s Typhoon Hagibis Estimated at $8B-$16B: AIR
Oct 22 2019 // Insured losses from Typhoon Hagibis, which made landfall in Japan on Oct. 12, will be between 865 billion Japanese yen (US$8 billion) and JPY 1,730 billion (US$16 billion), with more than half of the losses due to inland...
Typhoons Faxai, Hagibis Unlikely to Affect Stability of Japan’s Non-Life Insurers: AM Best
Oct 18 2019 // The recent mega-typhoons in Japan are unlikely to affect the financial stability of the country’s three major non-life insurers due to their appropriate catastrophe risk management and strong capitalization levels,...
Hurricane Dorian Ties as Strongest Landfalling Atlantic Hurricane on Record: Aon
Oct 14 2019 // Hurricane Dorian made landfalls in the Bahamas, North Carolina, and Canada in early September, bringing total economic and insured losses in the billions, according to Aon’s monthly Global Catastrophe Recap...
Update: Typhoon Hagibis Rips Across Japan, Causing Flooding, Killing at Least 43
Oct 12 2019 // Japan is sending more than 110,000 people including its Self-Defense Forces to tackle rescue and cleanup operations in the wake of the most powerful typhoon to hit the country in decades, which left at least 43 people...
Update: Super Typhoon Hagibis Tracks Toward Japan; Guy Carpenter, RMS Comment
Oct 10 2019 // Super Typhoon Hagabis has been a category 5 for much of the first half of this week, but fortunately is forecast to weaken to a category 3 typhoon when it makes landfall in Japan on Saturday morning, Oct. 12, said Guy...
