Japanese accounting group seeks relaxation of insurance company bond loss rules

A Japanese accounting group is seeking to relax regulations on how life insurance companies record losses on government bonds. According to the proposal, life insurance companies can categorize government bonds held to match long-term policies as held-to-maturity without the need to recognize impairment losses, under specific conditions. The Japan Institute of Certified Public Accountants posted the proposal on its official website on Tuesday and is openly soliciting feedback. In the Tokyo stock market on Wednesday afternoon, insurance stocks led gains, with the TOPIX Insurance Index rising 2.7%, outperforming the 1.2% increase of the benchmark TOPIX Index.