Latest Japan Headlines
All the headlines from our Japan Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Japanese Agents Hope to Learn Best Practices from U.S. Agencies
Sep 2 2009 // The owners and producers of Japan’s estimated 300,000 insurance agencies can only dream of the success and freedom that the 40,000 independent agencies in the U.S. enjoy. But they can still learn best practices from...
Strong Earthquake Jolts Tokyo Area
Aug 12 2009 // The second seismic event to hit Japan in two days occurred off the central coast of the Japanese island of Honshu at 5:15 a.m. local time (20:15 UTC on Monday). Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide said the US...
Two Typhoons Slam into Eastern Asia; Powerful Earthquake Strikes Japan
Aug 10 2009 // Typhoon Morakot wreaked havoc in Taiwan over the weekend, making landfall late on Friday in Taiwan’s Hualien County with sustained winds of 148 km/h (92 mph). “As of Friday, Morakot had generated only 100 mm (4...
Japanese Agents Tour U.S. Agencies to Learn Best Practices
Jul 20 2009 // Most of Japan’s 300,000 Agencies Are Small, But They Are Dreaming Big ‘I’-Like The owners and producers of Japan’s estimated 300,000 insurance agencies can only dream of the success and freedom that...
Source Says Prudential in Talks with AIG to Buy Japanese Life Units
Jul 16 2009 // American International Group is in talks with a Prudential Financial Inc. unit to sell two Japanese life insurers, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The talks for AIG Edison Life Insurance Co and AIG Star...
Best Affirms Mitsui Sumitomo’s ‘A+’ Ratings
Jun 26 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa” of Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Limited (MSI). Best also...
World Economy Stabilizing, Says Krugman
May 26 2009 // The world economy has avoided “utter catastrophe” and industrialized countries could register growth this year, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said on Monday. “I will not be surprised to see...
Ratings Roundup: Gulf Re, Toa Re, MS Frontier
May 22 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of the United Arab Emirates-based Gulf Reinsurance Limited with stable outlooks....
AIG Sells Tokyo Building for $1.2 Billion
May 12 2009 // American International Group has signed an agreement to sell its prime real estate holding in Tokyo for approximately $1.2 billion in cash (Yen115.5 billion) to Nippon Life Insurance Company. The property consists of...
Report: AIG Nears Japan Building Sale for $1 Billion
May 4 2009 // American International Group Inc is near a deal to sell its Japanese headquarters for about $1 billion in what would be one of its largest asset sales since a September rescue, a source familiar with the matter said...
Sports Terrorism, ‘Names,’ Tongues and Mergers
Mar 23 2009 // Are professional sports the next terrorist targets? The terrorist attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team in Lahore (Pakistan) “highlights the vulnerability of sporting events to terrorist disruption,” warned...
Iowa’s Sen. Grassley Suggests AIG Execs Consider ‘Japanese’ Suicide
Mar 17 2009 // A prominent U.S. senator has intimated that executives of the troubled insurer American International Group Inc might consider suicide, adopting what he called a Japanese approach to taking responsibility for their...
Ratings Recap: Everest Re, NIPPONKOA, Sompo, Evergreen Re, Endurance
Mar 17 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its counterparty credit ratings on Bermuda-based Everest Re Group Ltd. and its U.S.-based intermediary holding company, Everest Reinsurance Holdings Inc., to...
Report: Japanese Insurers Sompo, NipponKoa to Merge
Mar 12 2009 // Japanese non-life insurers Sompo Japan Insurance and NipponKoa Insurance plan to merge, an industry source said, in the second deal in less than two months in a sector struggling with slumping demand and a dwindling,...
S&P to Review Sompo, NIPPONKOA Ratings on Merger Plans
Mar 12 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has said that a management consolidation plan between Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. (AA-/Stable/–) and NIPPONKOA Insurance Co. Ltd. (A+/Stable/–) could impact its...
Japanese Officials Hear About Auto Insurance From Michigan Chief
Mar 10 2009 // Last week, Michigan Insurance Commissioner Ken Ross met with Japanese officials to discuss how the agency regulates automobile insurance in Michigan. The Michigan officials met with Kunio Nakajima, director of Government...
AIG’s Hopes for Sale of Asian Life Unit AIA Rest With 3 Bidders
Feb 25 2009 // Three potential bidders remain interested in the sale of a large stake in American International Group’s $20 billion Asian life insurance unit, people close to the matter said on Wednesday, as the auction heads into...
Prudential In Lead to Acquire AIG Japanese Life Insurance Units
Feb 20 2009 // Prudential Financial Inc. is leading the race to buy two Japanese life insurers put on sale by American International Group Inc. in a deal due to close next week, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. AIG Edison...
UK launches 2nd Bank Rescue Plan, RBS Losses Near $30 Billion
Jan 20 2009 // The UK launched a second bank rescue plan on Monday. One of the recipients, Royal Bank of Scotland, said it lost over £20 billion ($29.3 billion) last year and Japan said bad loans worldwide had further to climb. The...
Report Japan Insurers Mitsui, Aioi and Nissay in Merger Talks
Dec 29 2008 // Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc, Aioi Insurance Co and Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co are in talks to merge, a company source said, in a move that would create the country’s largest...
