For Japan, the year of 2011 will be characterized as a year of histrical trials. During the previous year, 2010, Japan was in the process of recovery from the world financial crisis triggered by the Lehman Shock of 2008. However, the econ omy stalled due to the rapid appreciation of the yen in the second half of the year, and a full-scale recovery had been expected in 2011. Just at that time, the country experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11. This disaster caused unprecedented damage, and steel works and steel related plants in the disaster area were directly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. The effects of the tight electric power supply due to the nuclear power plant accident which occurred at the same time, and the ensuing severe disruption of the supply chain, had an unimagined impact on Japanese industry as a whole.
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