Latest Japan Headlines
All the headlines from our Japan Topic Page, ordered by recency.
‘Big One’ Looms in Minds of Experts Before California ShakeOut
Oct 18 2012 // A day before more than 9 million people in California took part in a massive nationwide earthquake drill on Thursday, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones stood in a room full of risk professionals in the San...
India’s Battered Insurers May Need More than Foreign Investment
Oct 10 2012 // India’s proposal to allow more foreign investment in its $41 billion insurance business provides a lifeline for an industry starved of capital and squeezed by regulation – but it may not pass parliament and it...
Lloyd’s Analyzes Repercussions of Thai Flood Losses a Year Later
Oct 3 2012 // Lloyd’s has published an analysis of the floods that hit Thailand in October 2011, which notes that “after weeks of slowly spreading their way through many of Thailand’s provinces, flood waters eventually...
Typhoon Jelawat Hits Okinawa; Moves on Tokyo: AIR Analysis
Oct 1 2012 // Typhoon Jelawat remains a powerful storm, even if its wind speed has decreased from around from 155 mph, 250km/h, it passed over Okinawa on Saturday with wind speeds over 90 mph, 144 km/h, causing extensive damage, and...
Typhoon Sanba Makes Landfall in South Korea: AIR Analysis
Sep 18 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Sanba made landfall on September 17 just before noon local time (3:00 UTC) in South Gyeongsang Province on the southern coast of South Korea. Maximum sustained...
US Renews Waivers of Iran Sanctions for Japan, EU Nations
Sep 17 2012 // The United States has renewed waivers on Iran sanctions for Japan and 10 European countries because they cut their purchases of the OPEC nation’s crude oil, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday. The...
Myanmar to Open Insurance Sector to Foreigners in 2015
Sep 14 2012 // Myanmar will allow foreign investors into its insurance sector by around 2015 once local private insurers have had time to establish themselves, a senior government official told Reuters. “We need to give these local...
Commentary by Gordon Brown:* Europe Risks Going the Way of Japan
Sep 14 2012 // The good news is that Europe is no longer going the way of Greece. The sad news is that it is threatening to go the way of Japan. After years of hesitation punctuated by panic, Europe has finally accepted the compelling...
Commentary: Iran Confident It Is Winning Sanctions War
Sep 4 2012 // Despite ludicrous claims to the contrary, Western sanctions have hurt Iran’s crude oil exports, but it’s also not all gloom and doom. In unsurprising, but obviously factually incorrect, remarks, the director of...
Powerful Typhoon Bolaven Nears Japan’s Okinawa Island
Aug 27 2012 // The strongest typhoon to approach Okinawa in several years was bearing down on the southern Japanese island on Sunday as residents were told to stay indoors and warned its strong gusts could overturn cars and cause waves...
Fitch Notes Reinsurers More Risk-Focused For More Asian Catastrophes
Aug 23 2012 // Fitch Ratings has issued a statement which points out that the “spate of Asia-Pacific catastrophes in the past two years have prompted reinsurers to take stock of their existing portfolio and re-evaluate their...
Asia’s Iran Crude Oil Imports to Regain Levels Prior to EU Insurance Ban
Aug 22 2012 // Asia’s crude imports from Iran are set to recover in September to levels reached before a July 1 insurance ban by the European Union plunged trade with the Islamic Republic into uncertainty not seen in decades. Top...
Best Upgrades NIPPONKOA’s Ratings to ‘A+’; Affirms Subs
Aug 22 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A+’ (Superior) from ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “aa-” from “a+” of Japan’s...
Best Affirms Sompo Japan’s ‘A+’ Ratings; Subs Ratings
Aug 22 2012 // 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. as well as the FSR of ‘A...
Insurance Deal Lets India Resume Shipping Iran Oil
Aug 15 2012 // India has joined Japan in offering government-backed insurance for ships carrying Iranian crude in order to bypass European sanctions that have nearly halved Iranian oil exports to key markets. The first Indian ship to...
ING Sees Quick Sales in Asian Insurance Break-up
Aug 9 2012 // Dutch banking and insurance group ING now expects a quick sale of parts of its $7 billion Asian insurance business as it seeks to repay state aid and meet European requirements for its 2008 state bail-out, its chief...
China Braces for Another Typhoon; Japan on Alert: AIR Analysis
Aug 8 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, residents along coastal cities in eastern China are preparing for their third typhoon in less than a week. Just last weekend, two powerful typhoons—Damrey and...
Aon Benfield Monthly Cat Report Highlights China Floods; Agriculture Losses
Aug 8 2012 // The latest report on the world’s catastrophes from Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc, highlights flooding in China that generated more than $8.3 billion in economic...
Japan’s All Nippon Airways Grounds Dreamliners, Citing Engine Corrosion Risk
Jul 24 2012 // Japan’s All Nippon Airways said on Monday it grounded part of its fleet of 787 Dreamliners after tests revealed a risk of engine corrosion, but Boeing Co, the aircraft’s manufacturer, said it does not expect...
Landers Quake Still Teaching Seismic Lessons
Jul 23 2012 // If you’ve never heard of the Landers earthquake that struck Southern California 20 years ago last month, you’re in good company. But, for an earthquake almost no one remembers, it has had a lasting impact on...
