Supply Chain Resiliency

Chapter 6 discussed the affected area’s linkage to global supply chains as another source of external demand. Market competition induces supply chains to expand geographically toward lower-cost regions such as the Tohoku region including the Sanriku coast. Integration to supply chains enhances the importance of regions’ job-creation strategies. Supply chains enhance production efficiency in regular times, but they can be vulnerable to disasters. The Great East Japan Earthquake affected not only domestic but also international trade and production. After the earthquake, companies reaffirmed the importance of fulfilling their suppliers’ responsibilities. Governments have introduced measures to support the implementation of business continuity plans (BCPs). Supply chain resiliency has become a vital issue for building a disaster-resistant regional economy. Supply chain-linked industries in the Tohoku region have grown in the inland area along the highspeed trainline (Shinkansen) and the expressway connecting Sendai city and the Tokyo metropolitan area. The Sanriku coast had been disadvantaged because it was isolated from the main route of transportation. The newly constructed north–south bound 250-km length of the Sanriku Expressway, which connects the Sanriku coast to Sendai city, should open the region to opportunity for integration into the global supply chain. The east–west bound expressways, also new to the Tohoku region, will provide access from the inland industrial parks to the Kamaishi cargo port, from which products can be directly exported without being transported to the Tokyo Bay area ports.