Acquisitions and Dispositions (Details Textuals 1) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Mitsui Sumitomo MetLife Insurance Co., LTD. ("MSI MetLife") [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Mitsui Sumitomo MetLife Insurance Co., LTD. ("MSI MetLife") [Member] JPY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2010 Mitsui Sumitomo MetLife Insurance Co., LTD. ("MSI MetLife") [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 MetLife Taiwan Insurance Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 MetLife Taiwan Insurance Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Nov. 01, 2011 MetLife Taiwan Insurance Company Limited [Member] USD ($)
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Interest in Mitsui Sumitomo MetLife Insurance Co., LTD. ("MSI MetLife")				50.00%	50.00%
Realized gain (loss) on disposition	$ (36)	$ 4	$ (18)	$ (57)		$ (136)
Net proceeds on sale of joint venture				269	22,500
Expense for reimbursement of transaction costs related to disposal of joint venture				4	310
Amount of the accumulated other comprehensive losses in the foreign currency translation adjustment component of equity, net of income tax, resulting from the hedges of the Company's investment in the joint venture released upon sale				46
Cash consideration							180
Net assets sold									282
Gain (loss) on disposal, net of income tax	0	(64)	6				(64)
Income (loss) from operations of discontinued operations, net of income tax	$ 48	$ 88	$ 38				$ 20	$ 22