As the havoc wreaked by the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami last week becomes clearer day by day, one critical problem for Japan's already fragile economic recovery has emerged: a lack of electricity.
In the aftermath of the devastating magnitude 9 earthquake on March 11, the world's third-biggest economy has been reminded that it is poor in natural resources and is paying a heavy price for its strong dependence on nuclear energy.
The scale of the impact on the economy is not yet clear, but many analysts agree the longer the economy goes without sufficient electricity, the deeper it will fall.