Canon Suspends Operations at Eight Factories in North Japan

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Canon Inc. (7751), the world’s largest maker of digital cameras, will suspend operations at eight production and development bases in northern Japan, according to a statement from the company today.

The factories are based in prefectures including Ibaraki, Fukushima and Tochigi affected by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and the tsunami it triggered.

Canon’s plant in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, which makes lenses and steppers, and another factory that produces inkjet printer devices in Fukushima may take “more than two or three days” to resume operations, according to Hiromoto Fujimori, a Tokyo-based spokesman

3/13/117:10 PM

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Original Post

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Canon, Nikon suspend operations at certain facilities in Japan
Monday, March 14, 2011 | by Rob Galbraith

Canon has suspended operations at eight of its facilities in Japan, all in areas affected by last week's earthquake and resulting tsunami, and is reporting 15 injuries at its factory in Utsunomiya. In statements released yesterday and today, the company indicates that damage was most significant at its EF lens production plant in Utsunomiya as well as in Fukushima, where inkjet printers are manufactured. At both facilities, says the company, "time will likely be needed before operations resume."

Nikon has also suspended operations at various facilities in Japan, including at its higher-end digital SLR and F6 factory in Sendai (which we visited in 2007). At least four Nikon facilities are affected, and the company is reporting an unspecified number of injuries to employees as well.

In addition, interruptions to electricity and transportation systems, as well as damage to factories that produce memory and batteries for consumer electronics, are likely to have some impact on the ability of Canon, Nikon and others to build and ship digital cameras in the weeks to come.

3/15/118:40 AM

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