Over half, or 55%, of Japanese companies based overseas have had their business operations impacted, or foresee they will be impacted, by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, reports Kyodo News citing a survey by Pasona Group. The online survey of 699 Japanese entities across 10 economies, conducted by Pasona Group Inc. in mid-March, found that firms based in France were by far the most affected with 92.3% responding they had been impacted in some way. As the only European country included in the survey, this was followed by Malaysia at 72.0% and Singapore at 66.7%. Of the 55% of the overseas-based firms, 43.2% said they already feel the effects of the conflict, while 22.7% said they expect to do so within a month and 26.8% within three months.

The most cited impact among the 43.2% was soaring costs of raw materials including oil, chemicals and metals. This was followed by rising logistics costs and energy prices. Those in the retail and wholesale sector also cited delays in delivery of packaging, while a trading firm said Western countries' economic sanctions on Russia over the invasion created issues in collecting accounts receivable. Over a third, or 34.6%, of the Japanese firms surveyed said they have taken countermeasures. Meanwhile, 54.3% of those companies cited information gathering in a multiple-choice question, followed by securing inventories at 32.5% and choosing suppliers at 23.5%. Specific actions carried out by manufacturing firms in India included starting negotiations to raise prices on products, while a trading firm in Hong Kong said it is reviewing conditions for transactions with Russian clients.