Latest Japan Headlines

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

Countries Raise Security in Malacca Strait after Terror Warning

Mar 5 2010 // Malaysia and Indonesia said on Thursday they are stepping up security in the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, following the Singapore navy’s warning of possible attacks on oil...

Some Scientists Defend Tsunami Warnings

Mar 2 2010 // The warning was ominous, its predictions dire: Oceanographers issued a bulletin telling Hawaii and other Pacific islands that a killer wave was heading their way with terrifying force and that “urgent action should...

A Recurrence of Recalls; ‘PIGS’ in a Poke; Lloyd’s Powers on; Haiti Now Faces Floods and Hurricanes

Feb 21 2010 // First Toyota, then Honda – who’s next? 2010 is not starting out as a good year for car companies. Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. was already in the process of recalling approximately 8 million vehicles, due...

Honda Adds 437,000 Cars to Global Faulty Air Bag Recall

Feb 11 2010 // Honda Motor Co. is adding 437,000 vehicles to its 15-month-old global recall for faulty air bags in the latest quality problem to hit a Japanese automaker. The company will replace the driver’s side air bag inflator...

Special Reuters Report: Inside Toyota’s Epic Breakdown

Feb 10 2010 // Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s most dominant and profitable automaker, was not accustomed to outsiders telling it what to do, let alone some obscure bureaucrat from the United States, whose own car industry was on...

Toyota Adds Prius to Global Recall List; Brake Problems Cited

Feb 9 2010 // Toyota Motor Corp said it is recalling nearly half a million of its flagship Prius and other hybrid cars for braking problems as it seeks to address criticism over the handling of its worst safety crisis. The world’s...

Bermuda Signs Tax Pact with Japan

Feb 2 2010 // Bermuda’s Minister of Finance, the Hon. Paula A. Cox J.P., M.P., announced that the island has signed a bilateral agreement with Japan that provides for a full exchange of information on criminal and civil tax...

S&P:No Downgrades for Financials, Insurers from Japan Airlines Bankruptcy

Jan 21 2010 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services stated that its ratings on Japan’s financial institutions and insurance companies “would be unaffected by the debt forgiveness requested by Japan Airlines Corp....

States Back Federal Role in Insuring Natural Catastrophes

Nov 15 2009 // After Decades of Discussion, States Adopt 3-Tired Plan 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...

Decades in the Making, NAIC Outlines Natural Catastrophe Plan

Nov 15 2009 // White Paper Approved at Fall Meeting with Near-Unanimous Vote The private insurance industry alone ‘cannot be expected to provide comprehensive catastrophe coverage without adequate financial backstops for the most...

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 // White Paper Approved at Fall Meeting with Near-Unanimous Vote 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...

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 // Most of Japan’s 300,000 Agencies Are Small, But They Are Dreaming Big ‘I’-Like The owners and producers of Japan’s estimated 300,000 insurance agencies can only dream of the success and freedom that...

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...