77% of Japanese companies in Europe have had their business negatively impacted by the war in Ukraine, according to a survey conducted by JETRO in September 2022. The manufacturing industry was particularly hard hit, at 83.7% and Japanese companies in Belgium (92.5%), France (87.5%) and Spain (86.2%) had the highest proportion of all countries reporting a negative impact. This may be linked to the industries most expressing concern about negative impacts – food, automobiles/motorcycles and electrical and electronic equipment. France is host to a number of Japanese food related companies and Belgium is the European headquarters of Toyota and other related automotive companies.
The main negative impacts were an increase in energy price, an increase in raw material and resource price and confusion and congestion of logistics.
The main responses to negative impacts of the invasion of Ukraine were “passing on price rises to customers” (50.5%) and diversifying procurement sources (27.5%). Manufacturers were also increasing inventory more than they were trying to find new customers.
More general concerns were rising and persistently high costs, including energy, and the extension of the frontiers of the war, the use of nuclear weapons and attacks on nuclear power plants, as well as any increase or prolongation of uncertainty about the future – when the war would end, when it would be possible to resume business with Russia.
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