Latest Japan Headlines

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

States Back Federal Role in Insuring Natural Catastrophes

Nov 15 2009 // Though it may seem like the debate over the creation of a national catastrophe insurance plan is a relatively recent phenomenon, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners actually began addressing the issue as...

Decades in the Making, NAIC Outlines Natural Catastrophe Plan

Nov 15 2009 // The private insurance industry alone ‘cannot be expected to provide comprehensive catastrophe coverage without adequate financial backstops for the most extreme events.’Although it may seem like the debate over...

Ratings Recap: Tokio Millennium Re, Nissan Global, Asia Capital, ACRe

Nov 11 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of’ A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating of “aa-” of Bermuda-based Tokio Millennium Re Ltd. (TMR), both with stable outlooks. Best noted...

Decades in the Making, NAIC Outlines Natural Catastrophe Plan

Nov 1 2009 // Though it may seem like the debate over the creation of a national catastrophe insurance plan is a relatively recent phenomenon, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners actually began addressing the issue as...

Typhoon Melor Strikes Southern Japan; 2 Dead; 40 Injured

Oct 8 2009 // Typhoon Melor made landfall on the south coast of Japan, approximately 25 miles (40 kms) from Hamamatsu on Wednesday. According to a preliminary analysis from Risk Management Solutions, “available meteorological data...

Typhoon Heads to Japan, Storm Stalls Over Philippines

Oct 6 2009 // Tropical storm Parma stalled for two days off northwestern Philippines, was slowly heading toward the country’s tobacco-producing region on Tuesday, after killing at least 22 people.Right behind it is Typhoon Melor,...

China, U.S. Try to Jumpstart U.N. Climate Change Talks

Sep 23 2009 // China laid out a plan to curb carbon emissions by 2020 and U.S. President Barack Obama called on all nations to act now to tackle global warming, as world leaders tried to inject momentum into climate change talks.With...

Japanese Agents Hope to Learn Best Practices from U.S. Agencies

Sep 2 2009 // The owners and producers of Japan’s estimated 300,000 insurance agencies can only dream of the success and freedom that the 40,000 independent agencies in the U.S. enjoy.But they can still learn best practices from...

Strong Earthquake Jolts Tokyo Area

Aug 12 2009 // The second seismic event to hit Japan in two days occurred off the central coast of the Japanese island of Honshu at 5:15 a.m. local time (20:15 UTC on Monday). Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide said the US...

Two Typhoons Slam into Eastern Asia; Powerful Earthquake Strikes Japan

Aug 10 2009 // Typhoon Morakot wreaked havoc in Taiwan over the weekend, making landfall late on Friday in Taiwan’s Hualien County with sustained winds of 148 km/h (92 mph).“As of Friday, Morakot had generated only 100 mm (4...

Japanese Agents Tour U.S. Agencies to Learn Best Practices

Jul 20 2009 // The owners and producers of Japan’s estimated 300,000 insurance agencies can only dream of the success and freedom that the 40,000 independent agencies in the United States enjoy.But they can still learn best...

Source Says Prudential in Talks with AIG to Buy Japanese Life Units

Jul 16 2009 // American International Group is in talks with a Prudential Financial Inc. unit to sell two Japanese life insurers, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.The talks for AIG Edison Life Insurance Co and AIG Star...

Best Affirms Mitsui Sumitomo’s ‘A+’ Ratings

Jun 26 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa” of Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Limited (MSI). Best also...

World Economy Stabilizing, Says Krugman

May 26 2009 // The world economy has avoided “utter catastrophe” and industrialized countries could register growth this year, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said on Monday.“I will not be surprised to see...

Ratings Roundup: Gulf Re, Toa Re, MS Frontier

May 22 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of the United Arab Emirates-based Gulf Reinsurance Limited with stable outlooks....

AIG Sells Tokyo Building for $1.2 Billion

May 12 2009 // American International Group has signed an agreement to sell its prime real estate holding in Tokyo for approximately $1.2 billion in cash (Yen115.5 billion) to Nippon Life Insurance Company. The property consists of...

Report: AIG Nears Japan Building Sale for $1 Billion

May 4 2009 // American International Group Inc is near a deal to sell its Japanese headquarters for about $1 billion in what would be one of its largest asset sales since a September rescue, a source familiar with the matter said...

Sports Terrorism, ‘Names,’ Tongues and Mergers

Mar 23 2009 // Are professional sports the next terrorist targets? The terrorist attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team in Lahore (Pakistan) “highlights the vulnerability of sporting events to terrorist disruption,” warned...

Iowa’s Sen. Grassley Suggests AIG Execs Consider ‘Japanese’ Suicide

Mar 17 2009 // A prominent U.S. senator has intimated that executives of the troubled insurer American International Group Inc might consider suicide, adopting what he called a Japanese approach to taking responsibility for their...

Ratings Recap: Everest Re, NIPPONKOA, Sompo, Evergreen Re, Endurance

Mar 17 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its counterparty credit ratings on Bermuda-based Everest Re Group Ltd. and its U.S.-based intermediary holding company, Everest Reinsurance Holdings Inc., to...