By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Izumi Nakagawa
Japanese companies have contingency plans for the floods that increasingly drench this island nation, but most have done little to fortify facilities, relying instead on insurance and securing alternative supply sources, a Reuters poll found.
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The monthly Corporate Survey found 77% of Japanese firms have compiled business continuity plans for disasters, but just 45% of companies have taken steps to protect their facilities from inundation. Some 80% have bought insurance and three-fourth diversified their supply chains, the survey showed.
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Policymakers worry about a delay in recovery from supply- chain disruptions caused by typhoons and floods, which will take a heavy toll on the export-reliant economy already grappling with global slowdown.
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The direct damage from floods last year is expected to exceed that of 2018, when it reached $12 billion, a government official told Reuters. That puts 2019 on track for the most direct flood damage since 2004, when it hit $17.3 billion.
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