Latest Japan Headlines

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

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...

AIR Analyzes Increased Japan Risk after Tohoku-Oki Earthquake

Feb 17 2012 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has released a new report – “Understanding Earthquake Risk in Japan Following the Tohoku-Oki Earthquake of March 11, 2011.” The report stresses that the “M9.0...

Japan Nuclear Plant Planned Review of Tsunami Risk- But Too Late

Feb 16 2012 // Four days before a tsunami devastated a Japanese nuclear plant, its operator promised a fuller assessment of the risk of such a disaster — but not for seven months.The disclosure in a three-page briefing paper obtained...

Best Analyzes Impact of Flood Losses on Thai Insurance Industry

Feb 10 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has released a briefing that provides updated estimates of insurers’ losses from the Thailand floods. The overall industry wide insurers’ loss estimates from the floods have increased 50 percent...

Global Mining Insurance Market Capacity Down 30% After Losses: Willis

Feb 6 2012 // In 2011, the mining insurance market was not only hit by $2.7 billion in natural catastrophe losses, but over 60 operational losses totaling $835 million. The $3.5 billion total estimate of losses facing mining insurers...

Japan Reported Ready to Join Compensation Pact for Nuclear Victims

Feb 3 2012 // Japan will join at least four other nations in a pact to help compensate victims of nuclear accidents in member countries, a newspaper reported on Friday, as it continues to grapple with the aftermath of the world’s...

Japan Governor Wants Nuclear Safety Pledge in Writing

Feb 2 2012 // Japanese governor Tokihiro Nakamura believes nuclear power is vital for the resource-poor land, but even he says the central government must put safety pledges in writing before he’ll agree to restart off-line...

Japan Cabinet Approves Cap on Nuclear Reactor Lifespan

Feb 1 2012 // Japan’s Cabinet approved bills Tuesday aimed at bolstering nuclear safety regulations following last year’s Fukushima disaster, including one that would put a 40-year cap on the operational life of nuclear...

Strong Quake Jolts Eastern Japan

Jan 30 2012 // A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 jolted eastern Japan on Saturday morning, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.The focus of the tremor was 20 km...

Japan’s Stricken Nuclear Operator to Get $13 Billion Bailout

Jan 27 2012 // Japan is set to launch a $13 billion bailout of the owner of its stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant after the utility dropped resistance to a public fund injection, sources said on Thursday, as the country debates the...

U.S. Nuclear Plants Need Better Safety Against Earthquakes, Floods: Panel

Jan 23 2012 // An expert task force convened by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission called Japan’s nuclear disaster “unacceptable” and concluded that nuclear power plants in the U.S. need better protections for rare,...

Accounting Firms Cleared of Blame in Japan’s Olympus Scandal

Jan 17 2012 // An unofficial panel of experts cleared global accounting groups KPMG and Ernst & Young of any responsibility for a $1.7 billion accounting fraud at Japan’s Olympus Corp, though the role of the firms remained...

AIA May Bid $6B for ING Asian Business

Jan 17 2012 // AIA Group Ltd, Asia’s No.3 insurer and about one-third owned by American International Group Inc., may bid for the $6 billion Asian insurance operations of ING Groep, sources said, with the prospective sale expected...

AXA, Japan Post Top Best’s List of World’s Largest Insurers

Jan 4 2012 // France’s AXA S.A. has again topped the list of the world’s 25 largest insurance companies, based on premiums written, compiled by A.M. Best. The lists, which were compiled both on asset value and on net...

Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake Strikes off Japan Coast

Jan 3 2012 // A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 struck under the sea several hundred miles (kilometers) south of Japan on Sunday, shaking buildings in the capital, but officials said there was no danger of a...