No rest for the wicked: Why corporate Japan is showing resilience in the middle of the pandemic

Preparation is key for corporates to weather volatlity

Throughout recent history, Japan has endured its fair share of financial crises and shown itself to be prone to natural disasters and, indeed, epidemics.

These circumstances have - unsurprisingly - ingrained a mindset of "always being prepared for the unexpected" into the country's corporate culture. Although Japanese government policy is unwinding the extremes of this management style, an air of caution remains - firms like to retain a cash safety net in place for the bad times. And the benefits of this approach could not be clearer than right now. While the current situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has created a difficult operating backdrop, the reaction from corporates to the sharp earnings decline has been notably differ...