Latest Japan Headlines

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

Auto Parts Suppliers Under Pressure Following Recalls

Jan 19 2015 // Auto-parts suppliers are feeling the pressure as car companies move to raise quality standards after a record year for U.S. vehicle recalls in 2014.In Japan, parts makers that sell to automakers worldwide say they’re...

Honda, Nissan Widen Air-Bag Recalls Following Rupture in Japan Scrapyard

Dec 11 2014 // Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. followed Toyota Motor Corp. in widening global air-bag recalls after one of the devices made by Takata Corp. ruptured in a junked car at a Japan scrapyard.Honda will recall about...

Japan Weather Bureau Declares First El Nino in Five Years

Dec 10 2014 // Japan Weather Bureau Declares First El Nino in Five YearsJapan’s weather bureau said on Wednesday that an El Nino weather pattern, which can trigger drought in some parts of the world while causing flooding in...

Air Bag Update: Toyota to Recall 190,000 More Vehicles, Mostly in Japan

Dec 4 2014 // Toyota Motor Corp. said on Thursday it would call back 190,000 more vehicles, mostly in Japan, to replace potentially defective air bags made by Takata Corp., the latest in a long line of recalls for the embattled auto...

Willis Re Unveils New Japan Tsunami Model

Dec 3 2014 // Willis Re, the reinsurance division of Willis Group Holdings, the risk adviser, insurance and reinsurance broker, has released a new Japan Tsunami Model to advance the industry’s understanding of catastrophic tsunami...

Japan Transport Ministry Weighs Additional Air Bag Recalls

Dec 2 2014 // Japan’s investigation into dangerous air bags is leading to a remote scrapyard in the central Gifu prefecture, where the explosion of a car model not included in current recalls suggests automakers may have to yet...

Japan Assesses Damage from Earthquake in Olympics Site Region

Nov 26 2014 // The damage from an overnight earthquake in a mountainous area of central Japan that hosted the 1998 winter Olympics proved more extensive than initially thought.A daylight assessment Sunday found at least 50 homes...

Honda Admits Not Reporting U.S. Claims; Could Face Record Fine

Nov 25 2014 // Honda Motor Co. said it failed to report more than 1,700 claims of injury or death involving its cars to U.S. regulators, a violation that would be one of the biggest in history and could lead to a fine of $35 million.In a...

Noguchi Appointed Managing Director – Willis Re Japan KK

Nov 18 2014 // Willis Re, the reinsurance division of Willis Group Holdings, plc, announced the appointment of Tsuyoshi Noguchi as Managing Director for Willis Re Japan KK, effective December 1, 2014. He is based in Willis Re’s...

Honda Widens Recall of Takata Air Bags by Another 170,000 Vehicles

Nov 13 2014 // Honda Motor Co said on Thursday that a driver in Malaysia died in July after being hit by shrapnel from an air bag supplied by Takata Corp – the fifth such fatality and the first outside the United States.The...

Global Insurers to Bid for Insurance, Pension Units of Halkbank in Turkey

Nov 12 2014 // Insurers from Europe, Asia and the United States are among some 20 potential bidders in the sale by Turkey’s state-run Halkbank of its pension and insurance arms, three sources close to the process said on...

Judge: Sailors Can Sue California Company Over Fukushima Exposure

Oct 30 2014 // U.S. Navy personnel who were exposed to radiation from Japan’s wrecked Fukushima plant during earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in 2011 can sue the power station’s operator in California, a court ruled.U.S....

Air Bag Recalls Renew Doubts About Carmakers’ Responses to Defects

Oct 21 2014 // A deepening crisis involving deadly air bags is shaking confidence in the ability of automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. to ensure the safety of millions of U.S. drivers.Toyota is advising U.S....

Toyota Recalls 1.75 Million Vehicles Worldwide for Fuel, Brake Flaws

Oct 15 2014 // Toyota Motor Corp., the automaker under supervision in the U.S. by an independent safety monitor, recalled 1.75 million vehicles worldwide to fix flaws in the braking and fuel systems.The Lexus IS, GS and LS luxury sedans...

AIR Worldwide Discusses Expected Damages From Typhoon Phanfone

Oct 6 2014 // An ominous storm from the outset, Typhoon Phanfone is now on track to impact large areas of Japan with damaging winds and substantial rainfall, from Osumi and the southeastern coast of Kyushu to Shikoku and Honsh,...

China’s Fosun to Invest in European, Japanese Insurers

Sep 30 2014 // Fosun International Ltd., the investment arm of China’s biggest closely held conglomerate, is considering making more bets on insurers outside its home country, Chief Executive Officer Liang Xinjun said.“We...

Reinsurance Alternative Capital Now 20% of Cat Market: Aon Benfield ILS Report

Sep 11 2014 // Alternative capital has captured approximately a 20 percent market share of property catastrophe reinsurance volume.That news came our of Aon Benfield Securities, which issued its annual report on the insurance-linked...

Japanese Specialty Reinsurer Canopius Expands U.S. Footprint

Sep 10 2014 // Canopius Group Limited, the global specialty (re)insurance platform of Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings Inc., said it is expanding its U.S. presence with the launch of Canopius Underwriting Agency Inc. (CUAI).Based in New...

U.S. Economic Losses Due to Napa Quake, August Floods Top $4 Billion: Aon

Sep 8 2014 // As far as natural perils go, August was mostly about earthquakes, along with a few tropical storms and typhoons around the world to add to the trouble, according to Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting in its latest...

Typhoon Halong Inundates Japan: AIR Analysis

Aug 12 2014 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide’s report on former Typhoon Halong notes that it was downgraded to a tropical storm before making its first landfall in Japan on Shikoku Island at approximately 6 a.m. Japan...