"There will be no changes for customers that hold an existing contract," Allianz said in a news release. It gave no reason for its decision to draw back from Japan.

The company, which employs 259 people locally, holds 33,000 contracts with total assets of 228.4 billion yen ($2.97 billion). Five other units of the German company, including a fire and marine insurer, will continue as before, the company said.

Allianz began selling policies in Japan, the world's second-biggest life insurance market, in 2008.