Japan Insurer Scandals Deepen as Dai-ichi Reveals Misconduct

Japan’s insurance industry is reeling from a raft of scandals that have exposed companies’ lax supervision of its employees, undermining trust in the sector at a time when the government is trying to drive more investment by individuals.

Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. became the latest firm to reveal misconduct, joining Japan’s three other biggest life insurers including Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. in saying that employees, seconded to financial firms selling their insurance, mishandled data. Before August 2024, 64 seconded employees from Dai-ichi Life and units obtained more than 1,000 pieces of data without approval, the insurer said in a statement.