Japan's Yamato Life Insurance will file for bankruptcy protection, becoming the first Japanese insurer to fail amid the global credit crisis, the country's financial watchdog said Friday.
   
"Yamato officials made the filing with the Financial Services Agency today" to ask for court protection, an FSA official told AFP, without elaborating.
   
The Tokyo-based, medium-sized company will take the necessary legal steps and seek court approval for rehabilitation, the official said.
   
The medium-size insurer's debts amount to 269.5 billion yen (2.73 billion dollars), Jiji Press reported earlier.