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It was in 1907—almost a century ago—that Hinode Life Insurance, Co., Ltd, Sumitomo Life Insurance’s predecessor, was born. After studying medicine for seven years in Germany, the U.S., and other countries, Toshiyuki Okamoto, its founder, worked as the head physician for the Japan office of New York Life Insurance Company, then one of the three largest life insurance companies in the U.S.
Although the first scientific life insurance business based on British and American models was established in Japan around 1880, the industry’s foundations were not firmly established until a quarter of a century later, after a number of companies had been formed and the government had stepped in to regulate the sector.
Thinking that he had acquired experience in life insurance management and that the time was ripe, Okamoto began to consider establishing a new life insurance company, one financed with Japanese capital. Feeling that this could be his way of making a meaningful contribution to society, in 1906 Okamoto quit his job at New York Life. He made the rounds visiting influential businessmen, prominent scholars, and other important people to explain with great conviction how life insurance was useful in bringing stability to people’s lives and was also a key to developing the nation’s economy. |
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| Hinode Life Insurance headquarters building (Osaka, 1907) |
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