Japan Tsunami Anniversary: Technology Industry One Year On

One year on from the Japanese Tsunami, despite negative forecasts from its native companies, analysts have suggested the country's technology industry may finally be getting back on its feet.

In its reports, research firm Gartner suggested that, while the effects of the Japanese Tsunami were devastating, the country's industry was recovering.

Specifically, in a report published on 28 February, 2012, Gartner analysts reported that the country's infrastructure and utilities were more affected than its industry.

"The earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that struck Japan in March 2011 had a significant impact on domestic power supplies, domestic production capacity and - because of Japan's prominence in automotive and electronics manufacturing - global supply chains," read Gartner's report.

The report follows on from near universal complaints from Japanese companies suggesting the disaster had caused significant damage to their supply chains, leading to massive losses. The complaint was made by Sony, Nintendo and Sega in their last quarterly financial statements.

Sony, one of the worst hit companies, confirmed in a statement during the October to December 2011 period that it had posted a massive £1.3bn loss. As well as the Japanese Tsunami, the company also cited negative foreign exchange rates and the Thailand floods as key factors in leading to its poor performance.

"There has been some progress in restoring production capacity, but the long-run impact of electric power shortages remains unclear. Domestically, we expect Japanese producers and their supply chain partners will not have to significantly reduce IT spending levels beyond 2012 because of lost revenue and pressures on profit margins," read Gartner's report.

"However, the floods in Thailand will cause Japanese manufacturers, which own and operate factories there, to cut back on IT investments in 2012 in expectation of weaker revenue and earnings."