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☆ Japan's lunar startup ispace delays NASA-sponsored mission to 2026
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | Thomson Reuters | Kantaro Writes About Everything Japan'S Economic Indicators To North Korea'S Missiles To Global Regulation On Ai Companies. His Previous Stories Have Been Published In The Associated Press | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Japan's lunar transport startup ispace inc (9348.T) said on Thursday it would postpone a future moon landing mission by a year to 2026 to better prepare for a commission by U.S. agency NASA, as well as deal with component supply delays. Tokyo-based ispace attempted its first lunar landing with the Hakuto-R Mission 1 spacecraft in April, which failed due to an altitude miscalculation. The U.S. unit of ispace, which has partnered with spacecraft software developer Draper to build lunar landers, has also encountered procurement delays for some parts, Hakamada said. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, a MS&AD (8725.T) unit, paid 3.7 billion yen last month to ispace for Hakuto-R Mission 1's failure. The unsuccessful landing resulted in a steep sell-off, but the shares have since recovered, closing on Thursday at 1,401 yen.

Persons: ispace, Takeshi Hakamada, Draper, Hakamada, Kantaro Komiya, Himani Sarkar, Miral Organizations: U.S, NASA, Financial Times, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, U.S

☆ Japan's MUFG Bank, two others lead $290 mln Sierra Space fundraising -Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - MUFG Bank is among three Japanese firms leading a $290-million fundraising round for U.S. spaceship company Sierra Space, spearheading a commercial "spaceport" project in the southwestern region of Oita, the Nikkei daily said on Tuesday. A spokesperson of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire, a unit of Tokio Marine Holdings (8766.T), confirmed that the three companies formed a strategic partnership with Sierra, but declined to elaborate on their investments. Sierra Space, spun off in 20221 from billionaire-owned Sierra Nevada Corp, is among a handful of space industry players attempting to build a private space station that NASA hopes will replace the two decade-old International Space Station by 2030. The Oita project took a hit this year from the bankruptcy of another U.S. space company Virgin Orbit , which had partnered with airline ANA Holdings (9202.T). MUFG Bank, one of Japan's three biggest, has invested in domestic space startups such as orbital debris-removal firm Astroscale.

Persons: Sierra, inc's, Kantaro Komiya, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: MUFG, Space, Nikkei, SpaceX, MUFG Bank, Tokio Marine, Tokio Marine Holdings, Sierra, Mitsubishi UFJ, Kanematsu Corp, CNBC, Sierra Nevada Corp, NASA, Japan Airlines, Orbit, ANA Holdings, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Japan Aerospace Exploration, SLIM, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Oita, Sierra, Kanematsu, Asia's, Japan

Traditional travel insurance won’t swoop in with paramedics, even though it typically covers the cost of an emergency. Dan Richards, the chief executive of Global Rescue, told DealBook that he wanted to fill that gap when he founded the emergency travel management company in 2004. Travel insurance is going to space. The space travel insurance market is still small, but Lloyd’s of London, which insures space businesses, began underwriting space travel insurance in 2021, and last year the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance said they would jointly develop space insurance offerings. The cost of search and rescue typically falls on state and local agencies, Ms. Hastings said.

Persons: Dan Richards, DealBook, ”, SkyMed, Hastings, that’s, Ms, “, Mr, Richards, — Ephrat Livni Organizations: Global, AirMed, Virgin Galactic, UBS, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Coast Guard, Global Rescue Locations: London, Japan, Hawaii, Utah, United States

TOKYO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Japanese insurers are expected to maintain marine war insurance, which covers the sinking and requisition of ships due to war in Russian waters for at least three months for liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels, industry sources said on Friday. But on Tuesday, a senior official at the industry ministry said the Japanese government had asked insurers to take on additional risks to continue providing war insurance for liquefied natural gas (LNG) shippers. The insurance companies negotiated with reinsurers to replace part of the coverage and they are expected to enable continued insurance, Nikkei reported on Thursday. After renegotiating with UK reinsurers, a total of 30 billion yen ($224 million) is expected to be secured, with domestic insurers covering about 8 billion yen and overseas reinsurers taking on about 22 billion yen, it said. But added the underwriting capacity will be less than half of the previous 67 billion yen.

☆ Explainer: How will Japan resolve shipping insurance for Russian LNG imports?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Yuka Obayashi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Japan's Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance told shipowners last week that from Jan. 1 they would stop offering insurance coverage for ship damage caused by war in Russian waters, because reinsurers were withdrawing coverage. Japan receives 9% of its imported LNG from Sakhalin-2, which is owned by Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Japanese trading houses. Loss of supply from Sakhalin-2 could send Japanese power and gas utilities such as JERA and Tokyo Gas Co Ltd (9531.T) scrambling for alternatives. It has had to persuade G7 partners to give it leeway so it could keep importing Russian LNG, and after the Russian government decided in June to seize control of Sakhalin-2, Japanese trading houses had to agree to remain as shareholders of the new Russian operator. read more"The top priority now is to secure marine war insurance," a senior official at the industry ministry said.

☆ Japan insurers in talks with reinsurers to resume coverage in Russian waters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance on Friday told shipowners that they would stop offering marine war insurance, which covers damage to ships from war in Russian waters, from Jan. 1, spokespeople at the companies said. "We are negotiating with various reinsurers to get the war coverage in order to restart providing marine war insurance in the area to our customers," a spokespeople at Tokio Marine said, adding that some reinsurers have responded "positively." Sompo Japan and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance are also searching for new reinsurers, their spokespeople said. Most vessels get two types of insurance: marine insurance covering damage from natural disasters and collisions, and marine war insurance covering damage from war or terrorism. Without marine war insurance, shipowners may give up operations in Russian waters, including picking up LNG from the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in Russia's Far East.

☆ Japan firms to stop insuring ships in all Russian waters -Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Three Japanese insurance companies will stop insuring ships for damage in all Russian waters due to the war in Ukraine, potentially affecting Japan's energy imports such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Nikkei newspaper said on Saturday. The insurers' decision was prompted by reinsurance companies refusing to take on risks related to the war that Moscow launched 10 months ago, the newspaper said. Japan's LNG imports from Russia's Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project could be affected, the Nikkei said. The Sakhalin Island complex, partly owned by Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Japanese companies, is vital to Japan's energy security as it accounts for 9% of the country's LNG imports. The three Japanese insurers will likely start negotiating with reinsurance companies after the Christmas holidays on possibly restarting coverage, the Nikkei said.

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