The NAJAS/KKC Business Speaker Series was held in Houston, Texas in cooperation with the Japan-America Society of Houston (JASH). Mr. Yasunobu Fukuda, Managing Executive Officer of Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. and President & CEO of Tokio Marine North America, Inc. and Mr. William N. Burke, President of Tokio Marine HCC were invited as speakers.

In 2015, Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc., Japan’s largest insurer, acquired Houston-based HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. in the biggest overseas acquisition to date by a Japanese insurance provider. This deal is representative of how Japanese firms have become increasingly focused on foreign markets in search of growth. Foreign investment has become integral to Japanese corporate strategies for an era in which many markets in Japan are saturated or shrinking, particularly as the population declines and elderly people account for a greater share of the pool of consumers.

Tokio Marine HCC serves as a shining example of how Texas has benefitted from Japan’s robust M&A activity. Insurance is an industry in which Japanese companies have been active in the U.S., as US companies have been in Japan. Recently, a number of major Japanese insurance companies have made acquisitions in the US, as part of their global growth strategy.