Japan May Need 5 Years To Rebuild From Disasters
By Alex Kennedy |
March 22, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
JAPAN may need five years to rebuild from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that have caused up to US$235 billion in damages, the World Bank said yesterday.
The March 11 disaster will likely shave up to 0.5 percentage point from the country's economic growth this year, the bank said in a report. The impact will be seen in the first half of the year, it said.
"Damage to housing and infrastructure has been unprecedented," the report said. "Growth should pick up in subsequent quarters as reconstruction, which could last five years, accelerate."
The bank cited damage estimates between US$123 billion and US$235 billion, and cost to private insurers of between US$14 billion and US$33 billion. It said the government will spend US$12 billion on reconstruction in the current national budget and "much more" in the next one.
It said a crippled nuclear power station in the northeast that authorities are racing to regain control of is an unfolding situation that poses uncertainties and challenges. Traces of radiation first detected in spinach and milk from farms near the nuclear plant are turning up farther away in tap water, rain and even dust. In all cases, the government said the radiation levels were too small to pose an immediate risk to health.
A short-term drop in Japan's consumer demand and production will also hurt trade with regional neighbors, the bank said. South Korean electronics firms have seen the price of memory chips from Japan rise 20 percent on disrupted output while Thai car exporters may run out of Japanese auto parts next month, it said.
The March 11 disaster will likely shave up to 0.5 percentage point from the country's economic growth this year, the bank said in a report. The impact will be seen in the first half of the year, it said.
"Damage to housing and infrastructure has been unprecedented," the report said. "Growth should pick up in subsequent quarters as reconstruction, which could last five years, accelerate."
The bank cited damage estimates between US$123 billion and US$235 billion, and cost to private insurers of between US$14 billion and US$33 billion. It said the government will spend US$12 billion on reconstruction in the current national budget and "much more" in the next one.
It said a crippled nuclear power station in the northeast that authorities are racing to regain control of is an unfolding situation that poses uncertainties and challenges. Traces of radiation first detected in spinach and milk from farms near the nuclear plant are turning up farther away in tap water, rain and even dust. In all cases, the government said the radiation levels were too small to pose an immediate risk to health.
A short-term drop in Japan's consumer demand and production will also hurt trade with regional neighbors, the bank said. South Korean electronics firms have seen the price of memory chips from Japan rise 20 percent on disrupted output while Thai car exporters may run out of Japanese auto parts next month, it said.
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