Latest Japan Headlines
All the headlines from our Japan Topic Page, ordered by recency.
UK Seeking Delay to EU’s Iran Ship Insurance Ban
May 9 2012 // The UK is seeking to persuade fellow European Union members to postpone by up to six months a ban on providing insurance for tankers carrying Iranian oil, arguing that it could lead to a damaging spike in oil prices,...
UK’s FSA Fines Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (Europe) $5.4 Million; Bans Exec
May 9 2012 // The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced that it has fined Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company (Europe) Ltd (MSIEu) £3.345 million [$5.4 million] “for serious corporate governance failings, and...
Willis Re Names Beedle to Head Asian Operations
Apr 18 2012 // Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of Willis Group Holdings has announced the appointment of James Beedle as CEO of its Asian operations. He has been a member of the Willis Re team since 1998 and has worked with numerous...
Is Marine Insurance the Stranglehold on Iran?
Apr 18 2012 // Marine insurance, or lack of it, may yet turn out to be the most effective sanction used by Western nations in 17 years of tightening the screws on Iran’s nuclear program. A European Union oil embargo on Iran, set to...
Japanese Insurers to Limit Iran Oil Voyages in Mideast Gulf – Sources
Apr 13 2012 // Japanese insurers are warning ship owners that they will only cover one tanker at a time carrying Iranian crude oil through the Middle East Gulf due to tightening Western sanctions against OPEC’s second biggest...
Japan P&I Club Ship Insurer Sets New Rules on Iran Oil Transport
Apr 11 2012 // Ship owners covered by Japan P&I club must alert the maritime insurer in advance of any plans to transport Iranian oil and petrochemicals that could fall foul of Western sanctions, the insurer said. The United States...
Willis Japan Appoints Enomoto New Retail CEO
Apr 5 2012 // Willis Group Holdings has appointed Yoshihide ‘Dean’ Enomoto as President and CEO of its retail brokerage business in Japan. The announcement coincides with news that the global insurance broker has opened a...
China P&I Club to Stop Indemnity Coverage for Tankers with Iran Oil
Apr 5 2012 // Key ship insurer, China P&I Club, will halt indemnity coverage for tankers carrying Iranian oil as of July amid tightening Western sanctions against OPEC’s second largest oil producer, two club officials told...
Starr Indemnity Receives Foreign, Non-Life Insurance License in Japan
Apr 3 2012 // Starr Indemnity & Liability Company announced that the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) has granted it a foreign, non-life insurance business license in Japan. The license allows Starr to offer approved...
Marsh Acquires Cosmos Services, a U.S. Brokerage Unit of Itochu Corp.
Apr 2 2012 // Marsh, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New York-based Marsh & McLennan Companies, acquired Cosmos Services (America) Inc., the U.S. insurance brokerage subsidiary of global trading firm Itochu Corporation. Terms of the...
Iran Oil Costs to Surge with EU Ship Insurance Ban
Mar 29 2012 // A widely expected ban on European insurance cover for Iranian oil exports from July 1 is threatening to curtail shipments and raise costs for major buyers such as Japan and South Korea, insurance industry sources say. Last...
$370 Billion Econ. Losses for 2011; $116 Billion Insured, Says Swiss Re
Mar 28 2012 // Although everyone is more or less aware that 2011 was a very bad year for losses from natural catastrophes, the figures compiled by Swiss Re evince just how bad they actually were. In its latest sigma study the reinsurer...
EU Agrees to Some Iran Oil Insurance Exemptions – Until July
Mar 23 2012 // The European Union will allow some insurance on Iranian oil shipments before its full embargo starts on July 1, member states agreed on Thursday, responding to concerns from Asian importers heavily reliant on the EU for...
U.S. Exempts 11 Countries from Iran Oil Sanctions; China, India Exposed
Mar 21 2012 // The United States exempted Japan and 10 EU nations from financial sanctions because they have significantly cut purchases of Iranian oil, but left Iran’s top customers China and India exposed to the possibility of...
EU Foreign Ministers Set Talks on Tanker Insurance for Iran Oil Embargo
Mar 16 2012 // EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss how the bloc’s Iran oil embargo will impact shipping insurance when they hold a scheduled meeting next week, an industry source said on Friday. The ministers are due to...
Japan Marks One Year Since Earthquake – Tsunami Disaster
Mar 12 2012 // People across Japan prayed and stood in silence on Sunday to remember the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the nation one year ago, killing just over 19,000 people and unleashing the world’s worst nuclear...
Japan Refiners Eye Force Majeure Clauses Due to Lack of Insurance
Mar 2 2012 // Japanese buyers of Iran crude may ask Tehran to include a force majeure clause in contracts if they are unable to pay Iran or lift Iranian oil due to lack of insurance cover for tankers under European Union sanctions,...
Fired Olympus Boss Woodford Launches Wrongful Termination Suit
Mar 1 2012 // Michael Woodford, the former Olympus CEO, on Thursday kicks off his legal battle for wrongful dismissal on the grounds of discrimination and whistleblowing, in a UK case that will throw the spotlight back on one of...
1-5 Percent Of Tsunami Debris Could Reach West Coast
Feb 29 2012 // Tsunamis generated by the magnitude-9 earthquake in Japan last March dragged 3 million to 4 million tons of debris into the ocean after tearing up Japanese harbors and homes. Scientists believe ocean currents are carrying...
Top Japan Insurer to Cut Coverage for Ships in Iran Under Sanctions
Feb 24 2012 // Japan’s main shipping insurer will only be able to provide a fraction of the coverage to tankers transporting Iranian oil under new European Union sanctions, officials said on Friday. Starting in July, European...