Latest Japan Headlines
All the headlines from our Japan Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hartford Seeking To Sell Variable Annuities in Japan
Oct 11 2000 // Hartford Financial Services Group has applied for permission from the Financial Services Administration for permission to begin marketing variable annuity products through its Japanese subsidiary. As in the U.S., flexible...
S&P Confirms Earthquake Didn’t Trigger Japanese Cat Bonds
Oct 10 2000 // While the earthquake which struck Western Japan last week was very strong, measuring 7.3 on the Japanese Meteorological Agency scale, it was extremely deep, and the epicenter was far from a major population center –...
Chiyoda Life Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
Oct 9 2000 // Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Co. became the latest, and so far largest, victim of Japan’s troubled financial community, when it filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, listing outstanding debt of 2.94 trillion yen...
7.1 Earthquake Jolts Japan
Oct 6 2000 // An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale jolted southwestern Japan in the early afternoon Friday, but early reports indicate it caused only moderate damage. According to the BBC, the quake, which lasted about 40...
Japanese Insurers Confirm Merger Plans
Sep 18 2000 // Confirming earlier reports, Japan’s largest p/c insurer, Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. plans to merge with the 5th largest life insurer, Asahi Mutual Life and a smaller p/c company Nichido Fire &...
Tokio Marine Reported in Merger Talks
Sep 14 2000 // Japan’s largest non-life insurer, Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co., is reported by Reuters News Agency to be in the last stages of talks with Asahi Mutual Life Insurance to join their companies to create one of...
Typhoon Rains Paralyze Japan
Sep 12 2000 // Extremely heavy rains caused by Typhoon Saomai hit central Japan, causing widespread destruction and four deaths. A record 9.3 cms. (more than 3 1/ inches) fell in an hour, paralyzing transport and forcing thousands to...
AFLAC, Dai-Ichi Alliance Announced
Sep 7 2000 // The famous AFLAC duck may soon be flying higher in the Japanese insurance market, as the company announced an impending alliance with Dai-Ichi Mutual, the country’s second largest life insurer. AFLAC has been in...
Japan Regulators Shut Down Taisho Life
Aug 29 2000 // Officials of Japan’s Financial Services Agency ordered the closure of Taisho Life Insurance Company on Monday after Yoshihiko Kokura, the chairman of its principal shareholder, Claremont Capital Holdings Inc., was...
Japanese P/C, Life Insurers to Combine Operations
Aug 28 2000 // In what would be a first ever alliance, Japan’s second largest life insurer, Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance, and leading p/c insurer, Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co., have reportedly agreed to combine...
Report Japan Earthquake Worries
Aug 14 2000 // A report by the Associated Press reveals increasing concern in Japan that “a big one” may occur at any time, and could reach or exceed the level of the 1923 earthquake which killed over 100,000 people in Tokyo...
Shinsei Bank Favorite to Acquire Japan’s Failed Daiichi Mutual
Aug 3 2000 // Japan’s Daiichi Mutual Fire & Marine Insurance Co., which collapsed in May, will most likely be purchased by Shinsei Bank, industry sources told Kyodo News Service Thursday. The two companies will try to come up...
Japan-U.S. Agree To More Dereg Talks
Jul 24 2000 // Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and U.S. President Bill Clinton agreed over the weekend to a fourth year talks to deregulate bilateral trade. The latest discussions ended with a joint report to the leaders on...
AIG, Fuji Fire Align in Non-Life Insurance
Jul 14 2000 // Japan’s Fuji Fire & Marine has agreed with a Japanese subsidiary of American International Group to align in the non-life insurance field. The move could strengthen Fuji’s product development and marketing...
S&P Outlook Negative For Japanese P/C Insurance Sector
Jun 7 2000 // International Rating Agency Standard & Poor’s announced that it was “maintaining its negative outlook on the Japanese nonlife insurance sector following the disclosure of the industry’s financial...
Prudential Invests in Japanese Insurer
Jun 2 2000 // Prudential Insurance Co. will invest up to $275.9 million in Kyoei Life Insurance Co., making it the biggest shareholder in Japan’s 10th largest life insurance company. The companies are expected to possibly create a...
AFLAC Japan To Start Internet Insurer
May 11 2000 // AFLAC Japan, a member of AFLAC Inc. group of companies, announced plans to start an on-line insurance company in partnership with NTT Communicationware Corp. Ltd. “The new venture, to be called aflacdirect.com, will...
Japanese P/C Insurer Unable to Pay Debts, Ceases Operations
May 2 2000 // Daiichi Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Co. ceased operations on government orders, after the company was unable to pay accumulated debts which exceeded its assets by $485.5 million. It was the first Japanese p/c insurer...
InsWeb Marketplace Debuts in Japan
Apr 6 2000 // InsWeb Marketplace Debuts in Japan Through a joint venture with SOFTBANK Finance Corp., InsWeb has launched an online marketplace for consumers in Japan at www.insweb.co.jp. The new site features five leading auto insurers...
Japanese P/C Insurers Find Three’s a Crowd
Feb 15 2000 // Japan’s third largest p/c insurer, Mitsui Marine and Fire Insurance Co., has bowed out of an alliance agreement announced in October with Nippon Fire and Insurance Co. and Koa Fire and Insurance Co. The cause of the...
