Latest Japan Headlines

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

White House Formally Notifies Congress of Japan Free-Trade Talks

Apr 26 2013 // President Barack Obama’s administration on Wednesday notified Congress it will start free-trade talks with Japan, bringing the world’s third-largest economy into U.S.-led negotiations on a regional free-trade...

Nevada Quake Lab Has New $4M Research Project

Apr 25 2013 // The University of Nevada’s world-renowned earthquake laboratory has launched a nearly $4 million research project aimed at making nonstructural parts of buildings more earthquake proof. Engineers at the...

RIMS in Southern California Touts Risks

Apr 22 2013 // Risk managers will play a greater role in strategic planning in the near future, according to a report issued on Monday. That was among the plethora of risk related information delivered at the annual Risk and Insurance...

Japan, U.S. Agree on Tokyo Joining Trans-Pacific Trade Talks

Apr 12 2013 // Japan and the United States have agreed on a deal to allow Tokyo to join talks on a U.S.-led Asia-Pacific free trade pact that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making a keystone of his strategy to open Japan’s economy...

Japan Carmakers Recall 3.4 Million Vehicles for Takata Airbag Flaw

Apr 11 2013 // Four Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co are recalling 3.4 million vehicles sold around the world because airbags supplied by Takata Corp are at risk of catching fire or injuring...

Dryad Maritime Welcomes Japan Plan to Allow Armed Guards on Ships

Apr 10 2013 // Dryad Maritime, a UK-based commercial maritime intelligence company, has welcomed the Japanese government’s plans to submit legislation that will permit the carriage of armed guards on Japanese-flagged vessels. The...

Ironshore International to Enter Japanese Market through its Lloyd’s Syndicate

Apr 8 2013 // Ironshore International, a subsidiary of Ironshore Inc., announced that its Lloyd’s Pembroke Syndicate has been authorized by the Japanese Financial Services Authority to offer Representations & Warranties...

Analysts Say Asia-Pacific Trade Talks Could Stretch Well into 2014

Apr 4 2013 // Free-trade talks between the United States and 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region could stretch into late next year, especially if Japan joins the negotiations, former U.S. trade officials said on...

Report Makes Chilling Forecast On Northwest Quake

Mar 18 2013 // More than 10,000 people could die when – not if – a monster earthquake and tsunami occur just off the Pacific Northwest coast, researchers told Oregon legislators . Coastal towns would be inundated. Schools, buildings...

Report: Japan PM Abe’s Pacific Trade Pact Gambit Pays Off, for Now

Mar 18 2013 // Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s first politically risky step of declaring the country’s intent to join talks on a U.S.-led Pacific Rim free trade pact appears to be paying off as his record high...

Finaccord Reports on Bancassurance in Global Markets

Mar 14 2013 // A new report from UK based market research, publishing and consulting firm Finaccord notes that “emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America offer the most growth potential for bancassurers but the...

Japan’s Clean-Up from 2011 Tsunami, Nuclear Accident Lagging

Mar 11 2013 // Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan’s northeastern Pacific coast, debris containing asbestos, lead, PCBs — and perhaps most worrying — radioactive waste...

Ratings Recap: American General, Philadelphia Indemnity, First Hawaii, Minnesota Lawyers Mutual, Workmen’s Auto

Mar 1 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘B+’ (Good) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb-” of American General Property Insurance Company (AGPIC), based in Nashville,...

G20 Wrangles over Currencies, Borrowing, Deficits at Moscow Talks

Feb 15 2013 // The Group of 20 major economies struggled on Friday to find common ground on currencies and borrowing, exposing rifts between advocates of a dash for growth and supporters of more austerity to revive the world economy. A...

Japan’s ANA Counts Cost of Grounded 787; Not Yet Seeking Damages

Jan 31 2013 // All Nippon Airways Co, the launch airline for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner jet that has been grounded with undiagnosed battery problems, said it lost more than $15 million in revenue from having to cancel flights this...

Too Early to Know Cost of 787 Dreamliner Claims, Says Boeing’s Insurer

Jan 30 2013 // Boeing Co. has some insurance in case its aircraft are grounded, but it is far too soon to say whether the problems with the 787 Dreamliner will lead to significant claims, the head of the planemaker’s lead insurer...

Safety Board Looking at Whistleblower Claims in 787 Battery Case

Jan 24 2013 // The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is looking at issues raised by more than one whistleblower as it investigates battery failures that have grounded the global fleet of 50 Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners for a...

Many Hostages in Gas Plant Siege Unaccounted for; New Terrorist Threats

Jan 18 2013 // At least 22 foreign hostages were unaccounted for on Friday and their al-Qaeda-linked captors threatened to attack other energy installations after Algerian forces stormed a desert gas complex to free hundreds of captives,...

Huge Sahara Gas Plant Hostage Siege Turns Mali War Global

Jan 17 2013 // Islamist gunmen holding dozens of Western hostages and scores of Algerians at a gas plant deep in the Sahara desert let some them speak to the media on Thursday to warn that they would be blown up if the site is...

Japanese Airlines Ground Boeing 787 Dreamliners after Emergency Landing

Jan 16 2013 // Japan’s two leading airlines grounded their fleets of Boeing 787s on Wednesday after one of the Dreamliner passenger jets made an emergency landing, the latest in a series of incidents to heighten safety concerns...