EARTHQUAKE & TSUNAMI
IN JAPAN
As most of the world is now aware of, on March 11 2011, a massive 8.9 eathquake struck Northeastern Japan at approximately 2:46 PM. Shortly after the earthquake the effected area was hit by a tsunami causing much destruction and loss of life. The current situation is being compounded by the continuing threat of nuclear disaster from several damaged nuclear facilities.
Much of the infrastructure of Japan, has been put on standstill. There are rolling blackouts, the supply chain (for food and daily necessities) has been affected due to shipping and transportation delays. Many auto manufacturers, including Toyota, have halted production.
I have many friends in Japan, and my wife has her family there. Fortunatley all our friends and family are accounted for, and while they are ok, they are understandably nervous about the situation. My wife & I send our deepest sympathies to those less fortunate and we hope the country can recover as soon as possible.
If you would like to help in disaster relief, please consider making a donation:
The American Red Cross - They are also accepting text donations. If you’d like to contribute, you can also send a text with REDCROSS to 90999 and $10 will be donated to help those affected in Japan.
Salvation Army - The Salvation Army will begin providing basic needs such as food and water to those who need it. Also accepting text donations - text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to make your $10 donation.
Paypal donations – choose from several organizations and make a donation via Paypal.
Statement from Akio Toyoda, President Toyota Motor Corporation
NEW YORK, NY (March 14, 2011, Posted at 8:45 EST) – Toyota Motor Corporation posted the following message today from President Akio Toyoda on its corporate web site:
I offer my prayers to all those who lost their lives in the March 11 Tohoku Earthquake and its ensuing aftermath, as well as my sympathy to the survivors and their families.
Not only is the struck region one of our production bases, those directly hit and vastly affected include our dealers, suppliers and numerous other partners.
With life the number-one priority, we want to do all we can to contribute to the relief efforts.
Determined to provide hope for not only those suffering and forced to undergo extreme hardships, but also for the region overall, we will do our utmost toward the realization of recovery.
Akio Toyoda, President
Toyota Motor Corporation
Press release from Toyota Motor Corporation:
NEW YORK, NY (March 14, 2011; Posted at 8:45 AM EDT) – We continue to place priority on supporting the relief efforts in the regions affected and ensuring that our team members, the employees at subsidiary vehicle manufacturers and at our suppliers—and all their respective family members—are safe.
To that end, we are halting production at all plants in Japan (including subsidiary vehicle manufacturers) from March 14 through March 16.
We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.
Previous Updates:
NEW YORK, NY (March 13, 2011) – Toyota’s associates and team members in North America extend our heartfelt sympathy and deepest condolences to the people of Japan, our colleagues and their families.
Our utmost concern has been the safety of all Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) team members and team members at our partner companies in the Tohoku region.
TMC has established a company-wide emergency task force to continually assess the situation and take initial measures.
There have been no reported injuries at Toyota operations, including the Tokyo head office, the Higashifuji facility, Tochigi office, Yamanashi office, Toyota Motor Tohoku facilities and at TMC subsidiary vehicle manufacturers.
While TMC plants were able to restart production on 3/11, plants that stopped production are Toyota subsidiary plants that produce parts and vehicles, including:
* Toyota Motor Hokkaido Plant
* Toyota Motor Tohoku Plant
* Central Motor Corporation Miyagi Plant, which also produces the Yaris model.
* Kanto Auto Works Iwate Plant, which also produces the Scion xB and Scion xD.
Employees at these facilities were evacuated to safe areas.
We are now conducting a detailed survey of each plant to determine the extent of any damage. We are also currently assessing the situation at our suppliers, dealers and the impact on North American import vehicles.
As we are committed to ensuring the safety of our team members and their families, Toyota has decided to suspend production at all TMC plants, as well as all subsidiary vehicle-manufacturing plants on Monday, March 14th.
Toyota’s number one priority is to support our team members at TMC, our partner companies, suppliers and dealers through this situation. On behalf of the company globally, TMC is moving to donate 300 million yen (approximately $3.75 million) for relief and recovery efforts in communities affected by the Tohoku Earthquake and is also considering the provision of goods and services as needed.
We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.
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