Jupiter's Somerville on the ground in Japan

VIEW FROM JAPAN

Simon Somerville, manager of the Jupiter Japan Income unit trust and Japan Select Sicav, was in Tokyo when the earthquake struck. Here he describes the immediate aftermath of this devastating natural disaster.

I was in Tokyo when the massive earthquake happened and experienced its terror at first hand. I am now back in the UK and my deepest sympathies go out to those who have lost family and friends to this terrible natural disaster. Violent tremors caused little physical damage in Tokyo. The ability of Japan’s skyscrapers to cope with such a large earthquake had been questioned but the first hand evidence shows that they have more than succeeded.  The area immediately affected by the earthquake and the more devastating tsunami accounts for approximately 6% or 7% of Japan’s total industrial...