However, from a different point of view, the disaster has reconfirmed that Japan’s high-end parts and materials occupy irreplaceable positions within worldwide manufacturing, especially in the areas of automobiles and electronics. Japanese manufacturers have been increasing the ratio of overseas production in the long run while creating new technologies and products in Japan that other countries cannot easily imitate.
The crisis has induced a partial reduction in global imbalances, but this correction appears to be largely cyclical. Some important structural factors that led to unsustainable imbalances remain largely in place. A risk that unsustainable global imbalances might re-emerge in the period ahead can therefore not be ruled out. Ruling it out would require rigorous policy adjustments in key deficit and surplus economies.