Titanic Quake, Tsunami Pummel Japan
The largest earthquake to strike Japan on record (WSJ), an 8.9 on the Richter scale, hit the country on Friday afternoon, generating a thirty-foot tsunami that inundated northern coastlines and set off warning systems in fifty-three countries. Japanese authorities set the death toll at sixty, with dozens still missing. The quake struck just two hundred and fifty miles from Tokyo (BBC), sparking fires in several parts of the city and shutting down public transport. Coastal regions in the Philippines, Hawaii, and other Pacific islands were evacuated ahead of the tsunami's expected arrival. Officials say damage estimates and long-term projections of the effects on business are premature at this point. Much of the infrastructure vital to Japan's export-driven economy (NYT)--including factories, airports, and seaports--has closed temporarily. Some analysts note that the majority of industrial Japan was spared, and that following the1995 Kobe quake, many firms diversified supply chains.
The historic earthquake also caused alarm at Japanese nuclear facilities, with the IAEA receiving reports of several power plant shutdowns, including a fire at the Onagawa plant, which has been extinguished. Asian markets (DailyFinance) fell on news of the crisis.
Analysis:
Speaking to Bloomberg television, Nouriel Roubini, the economist who predicted the global financial crisis, says the earthquake is the "worst thing" at the "worst time" for the Japanese economy.
In this op-ed for Wall Street Journal Asia in February, CFR's David S. Abraham asked whether Japan's prime minister can reopen the world's third largest economy to competition.
Multimedia:
This video from the Wall Street Journal discusses the implications of the earthquake and tsunami for a country already coping with slow economic growth and political instability.
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