Financial Times (May 16)
“The March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused Y2,000bn ($25bn) in damage to plant and equipment at Japanese companies and left many too uncertain of their business prospects to issue forecasts for the current fiscal year.” While quake-dampened consumer demand remains a concern, “it is the problems on the supply side that have contributed most to the uncertainty.”
Tags: Consumer demand, Damage, Earthquake, Forecasts, Japan, Supply chain
Wall Street Journal (May 10)
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel in Tokyo survived the great Kanto earthquake of 1923. Nearly a century later, Toyo Ito’s Mediatheque in Sendai is also winning accolades as a “legendary earthquake survivor.” The airy, glass building could not be more stylistically removed from Wright’s Hotel. Yet both architects employed innovative designs, working closely with engineers to ensure structural stability. The inspiration for Mediatheque was “a virtual world of indeterminate, seaweed-like tubes swaying freely as they supported floor plates, as though the architecture were without weight or dimension.” In 2002, a Harvard Graduate School of Design publication stated, “no building has pushed architectural or structural thought further than the Sendai Mediatheque.” Withstanding the quake proves the resilience of this design.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel in Tokyo survived the great Kanto earthquake of 1923. Nearly a century later, Toyo Ito’s Mediatheque in Sendai is also winning accolades as a “legendary earthquake survivor.” The airy, glass building could not be more stylistically removed from Wright’s Hotel. Yet both architects employed innovative designs, working closely with engineers to ensure structural stability. The inspiration for Mediatheque was “a virtual world of indeterminate, seaweed-like tubes swaying freely as they supported floor plates, as though the architecture were without weight or dimension.” In 2002, a Harvard Graduate School of Design publication stated, “no building has pushed architectural or structural thought further than the Sendai Mediatheque.” Withstanding the quake further proves the resilience of this design.
Washington Post (April 15)
Prime Minister Naoto Kan writes thanking the U.S., other governments, NGOs and private citizens for their acts of kindness as Japan recovers from the Great East Japan Earthquake. With over 28,000 dead or missing, Kan’s current “top priority” is bringing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear situation “under control at the earliest possible date.” Though struck by a staggering earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe, Kan believes “this difficult period will provide us with a precious window of opportunity to secure the ‘Rebirth of Japan.’”
Institutional Investor (April 12)
“A silver lining was not what anyone expected to find in the radioactive cloud that fanned out from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant following March 11’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.” Nevertheless, Institutional Investor believes ”the catastrophe may have been the catalyst the country needed to galvanize its stagnant economy and escape from decades of deflation.”
Tags: Deflation, Disaster, Earthquake, Japan, Radiation
The Economist (April 4)
“Japan gets all the bad luck.” On the verge of recovery from Lehman shock, the triple whammy earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis has again placed all in doubt. Responses to the Tankan survey illustrate the blow. Pre- and post-quake responses show a marked drop, with optimism turning to pessimism. Rotating power outages and the jishuku sense of restraint are inflicting further damage on the economy. The Economist urges that this is the “time, then, for the government to get out in front of its own people, and tell them to spend.”“Japan gets all the bad luck.” On the verge of recovery from Lehman shock, the triple whammy earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis has again placed all in doubt. Responses to the Tankan survey illustrate the blow. Pre- and post-quake responses show a marked drop, with optimism turning to pessimism. Rotating power outages and the jishuku sense of restraint are inflicting further damage on the economy. The Economist urges that this is the “time, then, for the government to get out in front of its own people, and tell them to spend.”
Business Insider (March 21)
Warren Buffett canceled his planned trip to Japan due to the earthquake. He does, however, remain upbeat on Japanese equities. “If I owned Japanese stocks, I would certainly not be selling them because of the events of the past 10 days or so. Something out of the blue like this, an extraordinary event, really creates a buying opportunity.”
Tags: Buying opportunity, Earthquake, Japan, Warren Buffett
Independent (March 13)
Around the world, eyes are glued on Japan as it begins to recover from a cataclysm “so powerful it shifted the Earth off its axis.” The front page of the Independent offers support in Japanese and English. “がんばれ、日本。がんばれ、東北。Don’t give up, Japan. Don’t give up, Tohoku.”
Tags: Disaster, Earthquake, Japan, Recovery, Tohoku
Wall Street Journal (March 12)
“No country was better prepared for an 8.9 quake.” Devastation cannot be escaped when confronting an 8.9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Still Japan minimized the damage through preparation and planning. “Japan stands, literally, as a testament to how human planning and industrialized society can cope with natural disasters.”
Tags: Damage, Earthquake, Japan, Preparation, Tohoku
Financial Times (March 11)
The Great Tohoku Earthquake dwarfed the Hanshin (1995) and Tokyo (1923) earthquakes, Nevertheless, “Japan has faced this challenge with admirable calm and fortitude.” Despite the altogether massive magnitude, Japan is demonstrating “resilience.”
Tags: Earthquake, Hanshin, Japan, Tohoku, Tokyo
Bloomberg (February 23)
New Zealand’s deadly earthquake may be the most costly natural disaster to strike insurers since 2008. A JPMorgan Chase analyst has estimated insured losses at $12 billion, the most since a $19.9 billion loss from Hurricane Ike. The quake which rocked Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, would also rank as the seventh most costly natural disaster insurers have faced since 1970.
New Zealand’s deadly earthquake may be the most costly natural disaster to strike insurers since 2008. A JPMorgan Chase analyst has estimated insured losses at $12 billion, the most since a $19.9 billion loss from Hurricane Ike. The quake which rocked Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, would also rank as the seventh most costly natural disaster insurers have faced since 1970.
Tags: Earthquake, Insurers, Loss, Natural disaster, New Zealand
