'Made in Japan' stamp to disappear as tsunami sees industry move out On Sunday, Japan marked the first anniversary of the disaster that decimated Japan's northeast coast, left more than 19,000 dead or missing, and sparked the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. "It is likely to mean fewer goods are 'Made in Japan', but more are 'Made by Japan'," said David Rea, Japan economist at Capital Economics. He expects Japanese industry to be hit by companies' reluctance to invest, given the uncertainty about the country's energy strategy after the nuclear meltdown. Just two of the 54 nuclear reactors in operation in Japan at the start of 2011 remain open, with the rest closed for maintenance or inspection. That means its economy is more reliant on imported fossil fuels and so more vulnerable to oil price shocks, while its lower power generating capacity threatens energy shortages and pushes up costs for manufacturers. This will encourage investment to flow to other countries with a secure and cheaper power supply, Mr Rea predicted. The rise in fossil fuel imports may also mean that 2012 sees Japan post another annual trade deficit. "Without a surge in exports, which is unlikely as the global recovery peters out later this year, last year's deficit could come to be seen as a major turning point as Japan begins to run continuous trade deficits," he said. The long-term impact of the disaster on the Japan economy will hinge on what its leaders decided to do about nuclear energy, he said, arguing that scrapping it altogether will cause harm. Figures showed last week that Japan's economy shrank 0.2pc quarter-on-quarter in the last quarter of 2011.