Japan’s conglomerates are getting a first look at European companies being put up for sale by private equity owners, because they are hungry for assets in Europe.

The huge earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku in March 2011, and its resulting tsunami, shook Japan to its foundations, with tragic loss of life and devastating environmental damage. The World Bank estimates the economic cost at $235bn. It also awoke the country's corporate behemoths from a decade-long slumber into an acquisition spree.