Latest Japan Headlines

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

Guy Carpenter Analyzes 2011 Catastrophes; $108 Billion in Losses

Dec 30 2011 // Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has examined the past year’s natural catastrophes, which it describes as “an unusually eventful year for the (re)insurance sector.” In addition to the ongoing financial...

Ratings Recap: Evergreen Re, Asian Re, Toa Re, Meritz

Dec 27 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of Bermuda-based Evergreen Reinsurance Company, Ltd. (ERCL), both with stable outlooks....

Best Affirms Ratings of Sompo Japan and U.S. Subs; Outlook Stable

Dec 27 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa-” of Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. Best also, affirmed the FSR of...

Best Affirms NIPPONKOA’s ‘A’ Ratings; Outlook Stable

Dec 27 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a+” of Japan’s NIPPONKOA Insurance Company Ltd, both with stable outlooks.The ratings...

Tokio Marine to Buy Delphi Financial for $2.7 Billion

Dec 21 2011 // Tokio Marine said on Wednesday it will buy U.S. insurer Delphi Financial Group for $2.7 billion, the latest in a string of deals by Japan’s second-largest property-casualty insurer aimed at growing outside its mature...

Swiss Re Estimates 2011 Economic Cat Loss at $350 Bn; Insured Loss $108 Bn

Dec 15 2011 // Swiss Re describes 2011 as the “year with the highest catastrophe-related economic losses in history, at $350 billion.” It could have been the most costly year ever for the insurance industry, if Japan had been...

Panel Urges Legal Action in Damning Report on Japan’s Olympus

Dec 6 2011 // An independent panel urged legal action against executives who covered up a $1.7 billion accounting scandal at Japan’s Olympus Corp, and said others who knew about it should be replaced. But its findings failed to...

Fleet of Ferraris Ruined in Japan Sportscar Pileup

Dec 6 2011 // An outing of luxury sportscar enthusiasts in Japan ended in an expensive freeway pileup -smashing a stunning eight Ferraris, a Lamborghini and two Mercedes – likely worth more than $1 million together.Police say they...

Insurers Bracing for Thai Flood Claims at More Than $10B

Dec 5 2011 // Insurers are bracing themselves for claims in excess of $10 billion after floods in Thailand disabled major foreign-owned manufacturing operations there, adding to an already record-breaking natural catastrophe bill this...

Thai Flood May Hit Asia Harder Than Japan Disaster: Official

Nov 29 2011 // The impact from Thailand floods on Asia’s production networks may last longer and be deeper than that from Japan’s March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, a senior Asian Development Bank official said on...

Chevron Takes Full Responsibility for Brazil Oil Spill

Nov 21 2011 // U.S. oil company Chevron will fully clean up a spill off Brazil’s coast, George Buck, the CEO of the local subsidiary said on Sunday, taking responsibility for an accident that has become a major test for one of the...

Insurers Bracing for Thai Flood Claims over $10 Billion

Nov 21 2011 // Insurers are bracing themselves for claims in excess of $10 billion after floods in Thailand disabled major foreign-owned manufacturing operations there, adding to an already record-breaking natural catastrophe bill this...

Buffet on Japan Visit; Says Euro Zone Has ‘Major Flaw’

Nov 21 2011 // Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Europe’s debt crisis had shown up a “major flaw” in the 17-member euro zone system and it would take more than words to fix it.“There is a major flaw in the...

Japan Probes Possible Olympus Organized Crime Links – Source

Nov 18 2011 // A unit from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s organized crime division has joined an investigation into an accounting scam at Japan’s disgraced Olympus Corp, a source familiar with the matter said on...

Spate of Disasters Exposes Supply Chain Weakness

Nov 14 2011 // When flood waters rose in Thailand, Wal-Mart stores in Japan ran out of mouthwash. “We were out of mouthwash in Japan for about four days,” Scott Price, Wal-Mart’s Asia chief executive officer, said at...

Australia Urges Breaking up Doha Round into Smaller Pacts

Nov 10 2011 // Australia wants World Trade Organization members to recognize that reaching a comprehensive deal in decade-old world trade talks has become impossible and to focus instead on a series of smaller pacts, the country’s...

Lawmakers Urge U.S. Caution on Japan Trade Talks

Nov 9 2011 // Four senior U.S. lawmakers Tuesday urged President Barack Obama’s administration not to make a hasty decision to begin free trade talks with Japan if that country should request this week to join negotiations on a...

Japan Tries, Again, to Cut Corporate Ties to Yakuza Crime Syndicates

Nov 8 2011 // Aki Tsurumaki says he never felt his life was in danger during the 15 years he has been helping companies escape entanglements with Japan’s “yakuza” crime syndicates.But the 42-year-old lawyer jokes that...

In Abrupt Turnaround, Olympus Admits It Hid Losses for Decades

Nov 8 2011 // Japan’s Olympus admitted on Tuesday it had hidden losses on securities investments dating back to the 1980s, succumbing to weeks of pressure to explain a series of baffling transactions that have put the future of...

US, EU, Japan Press China on Financial Services Reform at WTO

Nov 1 2011 // The United States criticized China on Monday for failing to fulfill World Trade Organization commitments to open its financial services market, while the European Union and Japan pressed for answers on specific areas of...