Kumamoto Quake Affects Local Firms; Explosion Occurs at Aeon Mall

Kumamoto, July 28 (Jiji Press)–A powerful earthquake that hit Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday caused significant disruptions to economic and corporate activities in the prefecture and other areas in the Kyushu southwestern Japan region. An explosion occurred at retail giant Aeon Co.’s Aeon Mall Kumamoto shopping facility in the town of Kashima in Kumamoto following the temblor that measured up to 7, the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale. “The explosion occurred after customers and staff workers evacuated the building in the wake of the earthquake,” an Aeon official said, adding that the company is currently investigating the extent of damage. Still, there is information that the whereabouts of 20 to 30 facility employees are unknown. A chimney collapsed at Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s plant in the Kumamoto city of Yatsushiro, leaving several people unaccounted for. Toyota Motor Corp. suspended operations at subsidiary Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc.’s three plants in neighboring Fukuoka Prefecture. All workers at the factories are unhurt, and plant facilities were not damaged. While the companies are examining possible impacts on logistics, the plants are slated to resume operations Wednesday. Daihatsu Motor Kyushu Co., an affiliate of Daihatsu Motor Co., suspended its plants in the city of Nakatsu in Oita Prefecture, also a Kumamoto neighbor, and in the city of Kurume in Fukuoka. Honda Motor Co. halted the operations of its factory in the Kumamoto town of Ozu. Potato chip maker Koike-Ya Inc. suspended production at its plant in the Kumamoto town of Mashiki. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest chip foundry, evacuated workers at its plant in the Kumamoto town of Kikuyo. They returned to the factory after safety was confirmed. Major parcel delivery service firm Yamato Transport Co. suspended operations across Kumamoto, while industry peer Sagawa Express Co. halted parcel collection and delivery services in all areas of the prefecture. Japan Post Co. suspended the handling of parcels sent to and from the prefecture under its Yu-Pack service. It will halt over-the-counter services at all post offices in Kumamoto on Wednesday. Convenience store operator Seven-Eleven Japan Co. shut several outlets in Kumamoto. While about 30 stores remain without electricity, there had been no report on human casualties or store collapses as of Tuesday evening. Among other convenience store chains, Lawson Inc.’s 23 stores in Kumamoto and one outlet in Kagoshima Prefecture, south of Kumamoto, were shut. So were nine FamilyMart Co. stores in Kumamoto. Telecommunication services of mobile phone carriers NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Rakuten Mobile Inc. have been disrupted in some areas. SoftBank Corp. had seen no problems as of Tuesday night. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]