One year after the devastating March 11 quake and tsunami, the economy has been recovering from the tremendous shocks caused by the disasters, which disrupted the nation's production and exports while hurting business and consumer sentiment.
But with conditions apparently getting back to normal following the domestic crisis, familiar circumstances have re-emerged in which the world's third-biggest economy has been bombarded with a number of external shocks, including the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the relative strength of the yen against other major currencies, as well as the massive floods in Thailand.
Experts warn that the superficial recovery from the natural disasters could make it harder for authorities to remain watchful of the fundamental problems they have to solve to ensure the economy is on a recovery track, such as weak domestic demand, a rigid employment system and the lack of business innovation.