In this CEO interview, Fumio Yanai, President of Zenkyoren (Japan) discusses how Zenkyoren is adapting to meet the needs of its members in the face of extreme weather events and climate related disasters, how technology is influencing the cooperative insurer, and the value of the ICMIF global network. 

Can you tell us some of the ways Zenkyoren is helping members to secure their livelihoods? How does being a cooperative help Zenkyoren in doing this?

Zenkyoren is a member of Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) Group. Since the era when people in Japan were poor, especially in rural areas, the JA Group has been providing comprehensive services such as agricultural guidance, marketing and supply, credit, and insurance in order to build a society where people can thrive by helping and supporting one another, based on the spirit of cooperatives whose motto is one for all, all for one. Today, Zenkyoren together with 537 JAs supports the lives of about 10 million members (households) nationwide.

For more than 70 years since JA Kyosai1 was initiated, we have been working on insurance provision centered on people, homes, and vehicles as well as community contribution activities as inseparable businesses. Our business purpose is to…