Tokio Marine may be a whale in a shrinking pond but it is taking a bold leap into wider waters.

At Y7,537bn in net premiums written in 2006, the Japanese market for fire, marine and casualty insurance is hardly insignificant. Japan’s largest non-life insurer enjoys pre-eminence in its domestic market, with a 25 per cent market share. But the Japanese market, faced with a shrinking population, is hardly growing, and net premiums written this year are likely to be flat if not lower.