The Japanese life insurance market is not known for rapid change - but there are some new opportunities, albeit emerging at a distinctive (that is to say, slow) Japanese pace. Given the size of the Japan market, these niche opportunities are quite significant - after all, the Japanese life market is expected to still be double China's market by 2012.
The Retirement Opportunity
Japan has the single largest retirement market in Asia by far. In Japan, 21 percent of the population is over 65, as opposed to the rest of Asia where, on average, only 7 percent of the population is of retirement age. The proportion of people aged 65 or older is expected to further increase to 28.4 percent of the overall Japanese population by 2020.
