JAPAN

Insurance Firms Consider Stock Venture: Japan’s 30 major life insurance companies are considering formation of a cooperative entity to invest in the Japanese stock market, the daily Tokyo Shimbun reported. The entity, intended to help reverse a prolonged decline in the market, could be established by the end of this year, it said. Major life insurance companies together hold about 12% of all outstanding shares on the Tokyo stock exchange, the paper said, citing industry sources. The companies are discussing the project with the Fair Trade Commission to determine whether the move would violate Japanese monopoly laws, it said. An official of the Life Insurance Assn. of Japan said he isn’t aware of the project.