Did anyone think that one nuclear disaster can adversely affect the economy?  Fukushima Daiichi is one of the biggest nuclear plants in Japan, all its reactors are down.  Even if efforts to control the nuclear disaster are somewhat successful, Fukushima Daiichi is done, its toast, ain’t no more electric power coming from that plant.

This is causing a huge electricity shortage in Japan.  On top of that, there is not an emergency back up system in place, in Japan, to deal with the loss of such a large power plant.  Again, one more thing the highly educated leaders felt sure they would never need to prepare for.  That’s right, in a country like Japan, so addicted, and dependent on electrically operated things, no one believed that “what if” could really happen?

Japan has become the electronics/auto parts supplier to the world, but those companies run on electricity.  Eventually there are going to be more companies shutting down, around the world, because they can’t get their parts from Japan.

How long will this last? Japan’s Economic Ministry said well into summer. The Ministry expects peak demand to hit 55 million kilowatts.  Even if Tokyo Electric (TEPCo) gets other sources of electrical generation going, Japan will still be short 10 million kilowatts.  This guarantees ‘rolling’ blackouts, which can only have a bad effect on industry.

As a result, Japan’s Prime Minister, Kan Naoto, has ordered emergency planning to come up with a way to counter the huge electricity shortage. Kan wants the plan complete by the end of April.  Either way, we’re talking months of production shut downs around the world, meaning more people out of work.

As I’ve said in other articles, no more economic recovery.  Could this be the start of a Global Great Depression?