Disruption In Supply Chain In Japan To Fully Recover By End-July

Japan has given an assurance that the disruption in its supply chain following the March earthquake and tsunami will fully recover by the end of this month.The two events affected Japan's manufacturing facilities and movement of goods throughout Asean.Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, Banri Kaieda said the supply chain in Japan and outside it was immediately cut following the tsunami and it took about two months to be restored."The supply chain is now in the process of being fully restored with production having resumed over the last two-three months."Therefore, by the end of this month, the production will more or less be back to the levels that we had, before the earthquake," he told a joint press conference after the ministerial meeting between Asean economic ministers and members of the Federation of Japanese Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Asean (FJCCIA) here today.However, he said Japan still faces a disruption in power supply which has resulted in some Japanese companies, considering relocating their factories overseas."These companies are looking at Asian countries as well as the United States and Europe. Among the companies are those that consume a lot of electricity and those with considerably high technology," he added.When asked what would be the effect of the relocation on the Japanese companies, Kaieda said: "Rather than impact Japan's economy, the change will be more on the further loss of employment in the country."Kaieda did not go into details as to how Japan would tackle the power supply disruption. He said :"The power shortage is an issue that will be experienced moving forward and there is an element of uncertainty."Meanwhile, Malaysia's Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad said trade between Japan and Asean member countries, could be affected slightly following the disruption in the supply chain and manufacturing activities in that country."This year is going to be tough due to the tsunami which has affected supply over the past few months."However, after hearing the real situation from the minister himself, I am sure the situation will recover soon and it's also happening earlier than expected," he added.Japan has always been the top-ranked source of foreign direct investments to Asean, pouring in US$5.2 billion in 2009.As of June 2011, the number of member companies of FJCCIA present in Asean was 4,944.