The death toll from earthquakes that struck southern Japan increased to 42 and the economic impact began to reverberate Monday as financial markets opened in Tokyo.
The death toll from earthquakes that struck southern Japan increased to 42 and the economic impact began to reverberate Monday as financial markets opened in Tokyo.
The series of quakes that struck the island of Kyushu since Thursday are the nation’s most devastating earthquakes since March 2011. There are 201 people seriously injured, 838 have light injuries, and 110,816 have been evacuated to shelters, according to Kumamoto Prefecture’s disaster countermeasures office. There has been additional damage in neighboring prefectures including Oita.
The Topix share index dropped as much as 3.5 percent after the 9 a.m. opening bell in Tokyo, with car maker Toyota Motor Corp. slumping 6.8 percent as investors took stock of the impact on the supply chain for manufacturers. The yen strengthened 0.9 percent amid speculation that the government and the central bank will be forced to consider more stimulus for an economy that is already struggling.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said over the weekend on public broadcaster NHK that he had asked rescuers to ensure the supply of water, food and medical services to those affected after heavy rains fell.
In Kumamoto, close to the epicenter of the tremblors, hundreds of people took shelter in City Hall. Teruko Maejima, who fled her sixth-floor apartment with just a blanket, said she had been moving around shelters.
Witness Accounts
“I’ve hardly slept. Today we’ve got water, rice balls and bananas here,” she told Bloomberg reporters on the scene. “I feel so lucky and thankful that I’m here.”
Tamotsu Yamamoto, 68, was also taking shelter in the building. “I feel secure staying at the City Hall as there are many people here,” Yamamoto said. “Aftershocks continue and I don’t know how long it would last. I’m pretty worried.”
An initial earthquake came on Thursday night, followed by more shocks that caused intense shaking. A magnitude-7.3 quake occurred at 1:25 a.m. local time Saturday and was most powerfully felt close to Mt. Aso, an active volcano and popular tourist site. Television footage showed houses flattened and landslides that had swallowed up roads and railway lines in the village of Minamiaso, where at least 11 people are missing, NHK reported on Sunday.
Toyota Impact
Toyota may see its operating profit reduced by about 30 billion yen ($277 million) for the quarter ending in June after a series of earthquakes struck southwestern Japan and disrupted parts supplies.
Production shifts that stopped late last week at Toyota’s Kyushu factories will extend to other assembly lines in stages throughout this week, Japan’s largest automaker said in a statement.
The U.S. military had offered the government help with air transport, Abe said, and he plans to accept it after evaluating the needs of the local people.
There was no impact from the earthquakes on nearby nuclear plants, with Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai facility, which houses the only operating reactors in Japan, continuing to run. Environment Minister Tamayo Marukawa said Saturday the plant doesn’t need to be shut down at this point.
Suffering Damage
Kumamoto airport has been closed after suffering damage, with all domestic and international flights canceled Sunday. Tens of thousands of homes in Kumamoto prefecture were without power, according to the economy ministry.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference that significant damage is feared from the latest quakes and the government would do all in its power to assist. He said no damage has been reported to the nuclear power stations in Kagoshima and Saga prefectures. The prime minister’s trip to Kumamoto planned for Saturday has been canceled following the new quakes, Suga said.
Speaking in Washington, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he was monitoring the economic impact of the disaster, which he said was hard to estimate.
Suspending Production
Honda Motor Co. is suspending production at its motorcycle plant in Kumamoto through Monday. Nissan Motor Co. stopped output at its plant in Fukuoka after the latest quake as it assesses the impact on the facility and its supply chain.
Fujifilm Holdings Corp. halted production of electronic- display devices at its Kumamoto plant, according to spokesman Takahiro Taguchi. Nippon Steel &Sumitomo Metal Corp. has suspended some of its facilities in nearby Oita prefecture for safety checks.
All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co. will cancel all flights in and out of Kumamoto through Monday, according to the companies.