Latest Japan Headlines

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

Thai Floods Batter Global Electronics, Auto Supply Chains

Oct 28 2011 // Manufacturers of car parts and computer hard drives are the worst hit in Thailand, and face a bleak key holiday selling season due to massive floods, which have shut down production.Japanese car makers that had just...

Japan Offers Help to Companies Hit by Thai Floods

Oct 25 2011 // Japan has offered extra loans, insurance and a baht cash line to help Japanese companies in flood-ravaged Thailand, signaling growing concerns over the disaster’s impact on the world’s third biggest...

Ratings Recap: HSB (UK), Nissan Global Re, Optima, Hatherley/Park

Oct 13 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has upgraded the financial strength rating to ‘A++’ (Superior) from ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating to “aa+” from...

Honda’s Thai Production Underwater as Floods Hit Japan Firms

Oct 12 2011 // Honda Motor Co said its Thai plant remains underwater as flooding in the center of the country worsens, closing down 4.7 percent of its global output in a disaster that is hammering other Japanese firms that have made the...

HSBC Approaches Japanese Insurers on Sale of Non-Life Unit

Oct 6 2011 // HSBC Holdings has approached the top three property/casualty insurers in Japan about the sale of its non-life insurance business, which could fetch more than $1 billion, sources close to the matter said on...

Reflections on Recent Events and Implications for Catastrophe Risk Modeling

Oct 3 2011 // At the recent Rendez Vous de Monte Carlo there was a lot of discussion about catastrophe risk models. How will the recent events in Japan and New Zealand impact risk models in the future? How will these events impact the...

AIR Estimates Typhoon Roke Insured Losses at $150 to $600 Million

Sep 23 2011 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has given preliminary estimates of the insured losses from Typhoon Roke at between JPY 12 billion ($150 million) and JPY 46 billion ($600 million).As reported earlier, Typhoon Roke,...

Typhoon Roke Threatens Japan: AIR Report

Sep 21 2011 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide more than a million people were evacuated in central and western Japan in advance of Typhoon Roke’s arrival. The storm formed on September 10 and is the 15th named...

Japan Marks 6 Months Since Earthquake, Tsunami

Sep 13 2011 // Up and down Japan’s devastated northeast coast, survivors prayed and communities came together Sunday to mark six months since the massive earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11, a date that changed everything for...

AIR Estimates Talas Insured Losses between $150 -$600 Million

Sep 8 2011 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide’s initial estimates for insured losses from Tropical Storm Talas are between JPY 12 billion ($150 million) and JPY 46 billion ($600 million).Talas is the season’s 12th...

UPDATE: Killer Typhoon Talas Brings More Misery to Japan

Sep 7 2011 // Japan braced for more heavy rain and floods Monday as the death toll from the worst typhoon to hit the country in seven years climbed to 34. Rescuers searched for 55 others who remained missing, and tens of thousands of...

Typhoon Talas Kills At Least 15 As It Passes Japan

Sep 6 2011 // Heavy rains and mudslides from powerful Typhoon Talas killed at least 15 people in Japan as the storm moved northward past the country Sunday. At least 43 others are missing, local media said. [Ed. Note – latest...

Typhoon Talas Heading for Japan

Sep 2 2011 // A report from catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, notes that Typhoon Talas, which formed in the western Pacific on the 25th of August, is the 12th named storm of the 2011, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency...

Pacific Coast Towns Rethink Tsunami ‘Vertical’ Evacuation Options

Aug 29 2011 // When the next devastating earthquake strikes off the Northwest coast, it is expected to send a tsunami so fast that it could leave coastal communities with perhaps 20 minutes to escape the surge of water.For small towns...

East Coast Earthquake: Fear, Damage Mixed with Relief, Teasing

Aug 26 2011 // For a few minutes from Georgia to Maine, the question rang out: What was that? The answer — a rare East Coast earthquake, magnitude 5.8 — was far down on the list for most not used to the earth shaking beneath them.In...

U.N. Nuclear Chief Sees Added Safety Costs As Manageable

Aug 23 2011 // Planned steps to boost global nuclear safety after Japan’s Fukushima disaster will not lead to any major increase in costs for reactor operators, the U.N. atomic energy chief says.“It is true there is...

LA Car Arson Suspect May Have Set Fires in Japan

Aug 5 2011 // Fire investigators tried to determine Wednesday whether a man arrested for investigation of a serial arson spree in the San Fernando Valley served time for torching bars and restaurants in Japan a decade ago while he was...

Waffle House Serves Up Lessons in Risk Management

Aug 1 2011 // What can Waffle House teach about disaster preparedness and risk management, especially in the wake of this spring’s devastating tornadoes?Plenty, says a supply chain expert at Olin Business School, Washington...

Aon Benfield Guide: All You Need to Know on Volcanoes, Landslides, Tsunamis

Jul 26 2011 // The Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Centre has launched an introductory guide -“Getting to Grips with Non-Modelled Perils” – on volcanoes, landslides and tsunamis, which highlights the important characteristics...

Japan Committee Clears Nuclear Compensation Bill

Jul 26 2011 // A lower house committee of Japan’s parliament on Tuesday passed a bill to help Tokyo Electric Power pay billions of dollars in compensation to those hurt by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, ensuring a law will soon be...