Latest Japan Headlines

All the headlines from our Japan Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Swiss Re-Backed Insurer FWD Eyes China Expansion Ahead of Potential IPO

Jul 31 2019 // Fast-growing insurer FWD is seeking to launch operations in China ahead of any public offering and plans to bolster its non-life business in Asia, its chief executive said, as a potential shake-up looms in the...

Japan Post’s Share Sale Could Be Delayed by Scandal at Insurance Unit

Jul 24 2019 // The government’s plan to sell over $10 billion worth of shares in Japan Post Holdings Co. has been clouded by a scandal at its insurance unit.The subsidiary, Japan Post Insurance Co., is voluntarily refraining from...

Tokio Marine Looking for Insurance Acquisitions in Asia, Other Markets

Jun 25 2019 // Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. is seeking acquisition opportunities in Asian emerging markets and elsewhere as it seeks to double profits from those regions, according to the new chief of Japan’s largest...

Oil Shippers Continue Sailing Through Strait of Hormuz – with Heightened Security

Jun 21 2019 // A series of attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gulf has ratcheted up tensions between the U.S. and Iran – and raised fears over the safety of one of Asia’s most vital energy trade routes, where about a fifth...

Suspected Attack on 2 Oil Tankers Near Strait of Hormuz Stokes Fears of War

Jun 13 2019 // Two oil tankers were damaged on Thursday in a suspected attack near the entrance to the Persian Gulf, stoking fears that high-stakes diplomatic efforts won’t avert a military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran....

SCOR’s Q1 Net Profit Drops 21% on Japan Typhoons in 2018

Apr 26 2019 // French reinsurer SCOR, whose CEO faces a vote on his demotion during a shareholders meeting on Friday, said its net profit in the first quarter fell 21 percent as a result of the impact of 2018 typhoons in Japan.SCOR...

Japan Insurers to Invest in Riskier Non-Government Bonds, Seeking Higher Returns

Apr 25 2019 // As bond yields evaporate globally, many Japanese insurers are looking to secure higher returns at home and abroad by diversifying into riskier corporate and other non-government bonds in the financial year that began this...

Japan Post Holdings’ Insurance Unit to Sell Shares Worth $3.7B in Global Offering

Apr 5 2019 // Japan Post Holdings Co.’s insurance unit is conducting a secondary sale of shares held by its parent worth 409 billion yen ($3.7 billion) in a global offering.In its first sale since its listing in November 2015,...

Pacific Ocean’s El Niño Likely to Continue into Summer: Japan Weather Bureau

Feb 12 2019 // Japan’s weather bureau on Tuesday said the El Niño weather pattern appeared to be continuing, with a 70-percent chance it would stretch into the northern hemisphere summer. El Niño is a warming of ocean surface...

Japan Insurers Eye China Acquisitions in Continuation of Overseas Deal Spree

Feb 4 2019 // Japanese insurance companies have spent more than $50 billion on acquisitions over the past five years to become the world’s second-largest buyer of insurance assets, and the deals spree won’t be slowing down...

Why Many Americans Will Never Be Able to Retire: Viewpoint

Jan 25 2019 // Traditionally, Americans could look forward to a comfortable retirement. After four decades in an office or a factory, sometime in their 60s they would lay down their burdens and enjoy a final couple of decades with time...

Insurance Covered $90B of Natural Disaster Losses in 2018, Leaving 60% Protection Gap

Jan 22 2019 // The economic costs of last year’s 394 natural catastrophe events came to US$225 billion with insurance covering US$90 billion of the overall total, creating the fourth costliest year on record of insured losses,...

Swiss Re Estimates Its Q4 Natural Catastrophe Claims to Hit US$1.0B

Jan 15 2019 // Swiss Re estimates it will pay claims of approximately $1.0 billion for natural catastrophes booked in the fourth quarter of 2018, with the largest generated from California wildfires and Hurricane Michael.These natural...

California Wildfires, Hurricane Michael Top List of 2018’s Costliest Natural Disasters: Munich Re

Jan 8 2019 // The costliest natural catastrophes occurred in the United States in 2018 with one of California’s devastating wildfires and Hurricane Michael topping the list, according to Munich Re.A report from Munich Re on last...

Japan Insurance Group MS&AD to Raise Stake in Swiss Re’s UK Unit ReAssure

Dec 21 2018 // Japanese insurance group MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (MS&AD) has agreed to increase its minority stake in ReAssure, Swiss Re’s UK closed life book consolidator, by making an additional cash investment of...

Japan’s Post Holdings Buys 7% of Insurer Aflac

Dec 19 2018 // Japan Post Holdings Co. Ltd. on Wednesday said it will buy 7 percent of U.S. insurer Aflac Inc. for about $2.4 billion, as the postal and financial conglomerate seeks new profit-drivers to counter weak growth...

Charman Promoted to CEO, Sompo Holdings Overseas Insurance; Frudd Named Int’l CEO

Dec 19 2018 // Sompo International Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, announced that John Charman, currently chairman of the board of directors and chief executive...

A Desire to Leave the World Better Than He Found It: Acts of Generosity from AIG’s Founder C.V. Starr

Dec 17 2018 // Cornelius Vander Starr had many identities, including American entrepreneur, successful businessman, salesman, fearless world traveler and business pioneer. As the founder of what is now American International Group, he...

AIG Executives Outline Path to Underwriting Profit in 2019

Nov 2 2018 // “We do see it coming. We expect that in 2019 we’re going to be in an underwriting profit position, not a great one, but a profit. And we’ll move from there to a great one.”So said Brian Duperreault,...

AIG Again Battered by Catastrophes But Reinsurance Lowers 3Q Net Loss

Oct 31 2018 // Catastrophe losses in Japan and North America pushed American International Group to a net loss of $1.3 billion for the third quarter of 2018, compared to a net loss of $1.7 billion in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted...