Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. debuted April 1 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section with an opening price of ¥160,000 per share, sharply higher than its initial public offering price of ¥140,000.

Japan's second-largest life insurer, formerly a mutually owned company, is valued at ¥1.6 trillion based on the opening price, making it the largest listing in terms of capitalization since NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s 1998 debut at ¥7.4 trillion.

At a ceremony to welcome new employees, Dai-ichi Life President Koichiro Watanabe said: "Changing to a publicly listed company is a new beginning. We will make history for Dai-ichi Life with 60,000 employees in the group."