TOKYO, Dec 11, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Nippon Life Insurance Company said Wednesday it will buy US and Australia-focused insurance firm Resolution Life for $8.2 billion, at a time when Japan's ageing domestic customer base is shrinking.

Japan's population has been in decline since the late 2000s, partly because of its low birth rate and the country now has the world's second oldest population after Monaco.

This has fuelled a trend for companies, including in the service sector, to expand their businesses into foreign markets.

Resolution Life "will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Life", the Japanese company said in a statement, adding that the transaction "is expected to take place in the second half of 2025" after a regulatory approval process.

Japan's Nikkei business daily and other media outlets called the deal the biggest acquisition ever by a Japanese insurer.

The rationale for the purchase includes "expansion of business in the large and growing US life insurance market", Nippon Life said.