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June 30, 2026
 

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INSURANCE

While Japanese government bonds saw yields rise to multiyear highs in May, the attractiveness has been offset by concerns that the Bank of Japan is unlikely to tighten monetary policy quickly enough to contain inflation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 22, 2026
Japanese insurers sold domestic superlong bonds as yields soared
Local insurers sold a net ¥201.2 billion ($1.25 billion) of Japanese sovereign debt due in more than 10 years, according to the latest Japan Securities Dealers Association data.
SoftBank Group's Paypay said it will take a 70.2% stake in privately held T&D Financial Life Insurance.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2026
SoftBank’s PayPay to buy T&D’s life insurer for $840 million
PayPay, Japan’s dominant payments app, said it will take a 70.2% stake in privately held T&D Financial Life Insurance.
Hiroshi Umiyama, president and CEO of Mitsui Sumitomo, speaks during an interview on May 25 in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2026
Merged Japanese insurer aiming for ¥280 billion profit in fiscal 2030
The target for the year that ends in March 2031, excluding gains from sales of cross-shareholdings, would mark an increase of about ¥80 billion from current levels.
Health minister Kenichiro Ueno at an Upper House plenary session following the passage of a bill to reform the nation's health care insurance system
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 29, 2026
Japan passes bill to raise co-payments for prescription drugs similar to OTC counterparts
The health ministry plans to require individuals to bear additional costs for some 1,100 over-the-counter-like prescription drugs starting in March 2027.
Prudential Life Insurance's core profit declined 12.6% in the fiscal year ended in March due to the fallout of fraud involving former and current employees.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2026
Prudential Life Insurance posts 12.6% profit dip after employee fraud
It came to light in January that more than 100 former and current employees had fraudulently received about ¥3.1 billion from roughly 500 customers.
The government hopes to reduce medical expenses by asking people to pay more for prescription drugs similar to those that can be purchased at drugstores.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 15, 2026
Co-payment to reach 50% for prescription drugs similar to OTC ones in Japan
The current medical system has been criticized for allowing drugs that could be replaced by over-the-counter alternatives to be bought for cheaper through public health insurance.
The Prudential Financial Tower in Newark, New Jersey
BUSINESS / Companies
May 6, 2026
Prudential profit rises even as firm grapples with Japan pause
Prudential had paused life insurance sales in Japan for three months to restore trust after an investigation showed employee misconduct cost clients an estimated $20 million.
The combined balance at health insurance associations at all large firms in the fiscal year that ends in March 2027 is forecast to result in a ¥289 billion ($1.8 billion) deficit, according to the National Federation of Health Insurance Societies.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 30, 2026
Deficits loom for many health insurance associations at large Japanese firms
Over 70% of such groups are projected to log deficits in fiscal 2026, the National Federation of Health Insurance Societies says.
Employees on loan to Toyota from three major Japanese nonlife insurers, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, took out company information without permission.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2026
Three nonlife insurers fraudulently take out information from Toyota
The acts by the employees of the insurers may amount to violations of the personal information protection law or the unfair competition prevention law.
Prudential Life CEO Hiromitsu Tokumaru (center) and other executives from the firm during a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2026
Prudential Life Insurance suspends sales for additional 180 days
The Japanese insurer has received more complaints related to alleged misuse of customer funds.
Nippon Life Insurance's Tokyo headquarters
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 7, 2026
SMFG and Nippon Life discuss $3 billion LBO loan fund
The move would mark a milestone in Japan’s credit market, where the three biggest banks have dominated lending.
Starting Wednesday, Japan will launch a program to allow any child to enroll in nursery facilities regardless of whether or not their parents work.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 31, 2026
Japan to broaden nursery access through expanded child aid program
The program will be funded by a child-rearing support fund, with fees collected on top of public medical insurance premiums from all households.
Berkshire Hathaway's investment in Tokio Marine Holdings underscores the company's growing ambitions in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 24, 2026
Berkshire Hathaway to invest $1.8 billion in Tokio Marine
National Indemnity Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, will make a 2.49% strategic investment in Tokio Marine, underscoring Berkshire’s growing ambitions in Japan.
Sumitomo Life Insurance’s headquarters in Osaka
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2026
Sumitomo Life plans to invest $1.9 billion in private credit
The Osaka-based insurer has been gradually increasing its private credit holdings.
Japan is moving to make child deliveries free of charge in an effort to tackle the declining birth rate.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 13, 2026
Japan moves to cover full cost of child delivery with public health insurance
The measure, aimed at tackling the nation’s declining birth rate, was approved in a Cabinet meeting on Friday, with implementation eyed by fiscal 2028.
In Japan, through data collection and analysis, Aioi Nissay focuses on telematics insurance products whose premiums vary based on driver characteristics.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 13, 2026
Aioi Nissay to use driving data in Uzbekistan to reduce traffic accidents
The company aims to begin selling onboard equipment and offering related services in the Central Asian country by the end of March next year.
The Nippon Life Insurance headquarters in Osaka. Japan's major life insurers are continuing plans to increase private credit investment in the next fiscal year from April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2026
Japan insurers still keen on private debt amid growing red flags
Life insurance companies have joined global investors in a private debt market binge in search of higher yields.
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance President Hideki Nagashima speaks during an interview on March. 3 in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 10, 2026
Meiji Yasuda aiming for insurance-premium revenues of ¥5 trillion in fiscal ‘26
The target, shared by President Hideki Nagashima, would reflect an increase on the ¥4.3 trillion forecast for fiscal 2025.
Japan Post Insurance CEO and President Kunio Tanigaki
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2026
Japan Post Insurance to shift to high-yield bonds, CEO says
The life insurer expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates again as soon as April.
A shed submerged by floodwaters. Insured losses from natural catastrophes globally reached $107 billion last year, according to reinsurer Swiss Re.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2026
Insurers urge Australia to launch $21 billion flood defense fund
The funding would be used on tasks including adding more flood-protection infrastructure like dams or levees, and also for a property buyback program.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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