By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-03-16 16:44:23 | Word Count: 664
Japan is the third largest economy in the world. For such a small island, that says a lot. Japan has been steadily developing itself to be a power player on the world stage. You have to give them credit. Their infrastructure and business acumen have made many international investors wealthy. Japan endured the wrath of three natural disasters in the past few days. There was an 8.9 magnitude earthquake, a tsunami and a volcanic eruption. The earthquake and tsunami is responsible for the loss of thousands of lives and the devastation of entire communities. Although the eruption was barely reported, it had damaging effects on the surrounding town. Because of Japans rank as an economic world leader, the effects of these disasters are set to rock the globe.
Japan produces many electronics and automobiles and is the main supplier of these items in other countries. The international demand for Japanese products is so great that without them there becomes an imbalance. Japan kept up with the global demand with many factories. There is now little supply and lots of demand. Japan is a manufacturing giant. Most people have Japanese made products and don’t even know it. The earthquake and tsunami has caused several plants and factories to close down, not to mention all the workers that have been killed and injured. Even the people that survived can’t necessarily go to work because of all the debris and damage to their places of employment. There are roads that are no longer distinguishable and there is a limited supply of gasoline and food to sustain a workforce. Japan is in trouble and so is the rest of the world.
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There are several household brands that are based in Japan. Electronics companies like Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, Canon and Fujitsu are all based in Japan and produce several products that we simply can’t get anywhere else. The quality and pricing for Japanese products is what has made these brands become so popular. Immediately after the earthquake, the price for electronics from these companies rose. Memory cards for cameras and smartphones now cost considerably more than they did before the quake. Televisions, cell phones, computers and even the iPad2 will more than likely be limited in production because they are all comprised of parts that are manufactured in Japan.
Japan is also home to many of the world’s highest selling vehicles. Automakers like Toyota, Honda and Nissan all depend in some way on their Japanese factories. Even if these cars are not assembled in Japan, most of their parts come from here. Automakers that are not Japanese depend on Japan for auto parts as well. With so much of a stall in production, it will be hard for dealerships to keep up with demand in other parts of the world. It is unclear as to when factories will be repaired and fully operational. Some companies plan to resume production, but on what scale? That is left to be seen.
