UPDATE 1-Japan utilities LNG usage up in Sept

* Most atomic reactors offline in wake of Fukushima crisis (Adds detail, background)TOKYO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Japan’s 10 utilities consumed 4.36 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in September, compared with 3.54 million tonnes a year earlier, reflecting their need to offset a fall in nuclear power generation to a record low by burning more gas, industry data showed on Friday.A massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11 that hit northeast Japan triggered a crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, forcing utilities to burn more fossil fuels to make up lost output from reactors either hit by the March disaster or unable to restart for a prolonged period amid safety concerns.The utilities generated 76.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in September, down 9.1 percent from a year earlier, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan said.A Reuters calculation based on grid users’ data showed power demand fell 8.9 percent from a year earlier last month.Japan’s total nuclear power plant utilisation rate fell to a record low of 20.6 percent in September, down from 66.7 percent a year earlier.Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has said that offline reactors under maintenance should restart once local authorities confirm they are safe as stable power supply is key to boosting the ailing economy.Nuclear power generators are preparing to report the results of reactor stress tests to the country’s nuclear watchdog, the first step in a lengthy process that would ultimately require local authorities’ approval for restarts.Among the 10 regional utilities, southernmost Okinawa Electric Power Co does not run a nuclear reactor.

UPDATE 1-Tokio Marine Capital eyeing $906 mln sale of drugmaker-sources

By Junko FujitaTOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Tokio Marine Capital, a Japanese private equity firm affiliated with Tokio Marine Holdings , has launched the sale of drugmaker Showa Yakuhin Kako Co in a deal that could be worth as much as 70 billion yen ($905 million), according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.Tokio Marine Capital has hired Citigroup to manage the sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public.Tokyo-based Showa Yakuhin Kako is 50 percent owned by Tokio Marine Capital. Polaris Capital Group, another Japanese buyout firm, owns 23 percent, and a private equity arm of PineBridge Investments has another 23 percent; these two also plan to sell their stakes, the people said.Officials at Tokio Marine Capital, Polaris and PineBridge declined to comment.Tokio Marine Capital invested in Showa Yakuhin Kako in 2008 with Polaris and PineBridge, a formerly a unit of AIG.The sale comes as Tokio Marine Capital raises money for a new fund. The firm said in August it had obtained 10 billion yen from investors in Japan and overseas and was continuing to raise money.Japan’s private equity market is getting a boost this year, lifted also by the planned purchase by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital of restaurant chain Skylark from a unit of Nomura Holdings for $3.4 billion.MBK Partners aims to sell Japanese software maker Yayoi in a deal that could raise about 75 billion yen ($969 million).Private equity firms have conducted $2 billion worth of transactions so far this year, compared with $3.2 billion in 2010, according to Thomson Reuters data.The market peaked in 2007 when $21.5 billion worth of deals were completed.