The scars – economic and otherwise – left by the disaster that devastated Japan's north-east are still painfully apparent, and have left it facing its third recession in a decade. Though the downturn appears to be less severe than had been initially feared, recovery will take some time. Even though Japan’s unsteady financial position may not directly affect its largest banking institutions, its impact will likely colour Japan’s position in the 2012 rankings all the same. Nevertheless, for now, its banking sector enjoys a far better showing in the Top 1000 than it did 12 months ago.
This is partly because the 2010 rankings were calculated on the basis of results released on March 31, 2009, at the end of the Japanese financial year. This year, however, many of the Japanese banks' placings were calculated on the basis of data released in March 2011. Year-on-year profit and capital change are calculated from 2010 data, but in many cases, 2011 ranking positions are the result of two years of growth.
