In Tokyo's posh Ginza shopping district the Apple Store is packed, but the nearby Sony showroom is as lifeless as a mausoleum. In recent days the largest Japanese gadget-makers said they expect to lose a combined $17 billion in the financial year 2011. Panasonic alone expects to lose $10 billion. Meanwhile South Korea's Samsung enjoyed profits of $15 billion and America's Apple hauled in $22 billion.
Since 2000 the big five Japanese electronics firms have lost two-thirds of their value (see chart). What ails them? High costs and a strong yen don't help. Nor does a recent legal change that bars them from claiming certain tax credits they had counted on. But the sickness runs deeper. (The Economist)
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