<VV> For car guys - No Corvair - Affect of Earthquake on Japans auto industry

[Sethracer at aol.com]

From: Lou Ann Hammond
_Japan’s earthquake – automobiles and energy_ 
(http://www.drivingthenation.com/?p=3012) 
 
Sendai, Japan is about the same distance  from Tokyo, Japan as New York 
City is from Washington DC. It’s a pleasant drive  on highway 6 along the coast 
from Sendai to Tokyo. It was, until last night. 
There were five military  bases I remember in the Tokyo area when I went to 
high school in Japan.  Yokohoma, Yokota, Tachikawa, Fuchu and Kanto Mura. 
Kanto Mura has since been  shut down and a soccer field lays directly on top 
of it. Near that area is still  ASIJ, the American School in Japan, where 
all the diplomats kids went to  school.

Tokyo, and the surrounding  area, is the heart of business with many of the 
car companies headquartered in  the surrounding areas.
I experienced many  earthquakes while in Japan, but none as extreme as the 
earthquake I felt in 1989  when I lived in San Francisco, CA. I was on the 
phone when it started and  remember telling the person that this was going to 
be a big one, that I had to  go. I got off the phone and ran outside. It 
indeed was a big one. Major fires in  the city, concrete down, the bay bridge 
broken, lives lost.

The 1989 San Francisco  earthquake was a 6.9. Japan just had an 8.9 on the 
richter scale. Fox News  reported that the cataclysmic earthquake that hit 
Japan lasted 4 minutes and was  900 times more powerful than the ’89 
earthquake that shook the San Francisco bay  area.

The earthquake itself, because its  epicenter was offshore, didn’t do much 
damage, but tsunami warnings went out  immediately. This saved thousands of 
lives.

First, my friends
One of my high school chums  emailed me, “I haven’t been able to contact 
all of my family because all the  phone lines are down. They live in Chiba 
(outside of Tokyo) which had a tsunami.  My other relatives in Kyoto (further 
South) should be alright. I found out  through Facebook – updates which were 
scary. Gas off…more aftershocks…tsunami  hit….nuclear power reactor shut 
off…evacuations…fires.
Energy:
Japan relies on imported  oil, natural gas and nuclear power.
Nuclear plants:
Wikipedia says that as of  2009 Japan had 53 active nuclear power 
generating reactor units.
At first I thought the reactor in  trouble was up near Sendai, but I have 
found out it is near Fukushima, right  between Sendai and Tokyo. For anyone 
that is following this, it is like having a  nuclear reactor that is in 
trouble in Princeton, NJ – right between New York  City and Washington DC.
Reuters reported that two  nuclear power plants and a quarter of Japan’s 
refining capacity shut down  automatically during the quake. The temperature 
in the Fukushima’s  nuclear reactors fuel rods has built up to 50% above 
normal levels  since the six-reactor facility was shut down.
 
Operators at Tokyo Electric Power Co  (Tepco) are still working to control 
the situation at its Fukushima Daiichi  plant.
The emergency diesel generators stopped,  leaving Units 1, 2 and 3 with no 
power for important cooling functions.

According to the news reports, the cooling  water temps in the nuclear 
plant are approaching boiling point (100C), mainly  because of the receding 
water levels.

Nuclear plants need power to operate  motors, valves and instruments that 
control the systems that provide cooling  water to the radioactive core.
Tepco declared an emergency and the  government ordered thousands to 
evacuate the area, while engineers worked to  restore power. The company is 
bringing in mobile generators to restore the power  supply, but pressure inside 
the containment of Unit 1 has continued to  increase.



“Japanese authorities have  also reported a fire at the Onagawa nuclear 
power plant, which has been  extinguished,” IAEA added.
The Los Angeles Times went  on to report that he agency also said it had 
information from its International  Seismic Safety Center that a 6.5-magnitude 
aftershock or second earthquake early  Saturday local time struck near the 
coast of Honshu in the area of the Tokai  nuclear plant. There were no 
immediate reports of damage or leakage  concerns.
Oil refinery:
Chiba is outside Tokyo,  Japan and there is a report of an oil refinery on 
fire. CBS news is reporting  the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan caused 
massive damage. A large fire  erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara 
city and burned out of control  with 100-foot high flames whipping into the 
sky.
How are the car companies  doing?
Honda
Headquarters: Aoyama,  Tokyo, Japan
Honda has reported a  43-year old assoicate in their Tochigi research and 
development plant died, and  thirty others were injured during the earthquake.
Production had been halted  at two plants, one has been restarted.
Honda produces 80% of the  products they sell in America, so there is no 
immediate effect.
Subaru
Headquarters: Shinjuku,  Japan
Subaru produces 50% of the  products they sell in America, the rest is 
imported from Subaru Japan.
Nissan
Headquarters: Yokohama,  Japan
Operations are suspended at  Nissan’s Japan plants through Sunday, March 
13. Nissan’s global headquarters  building in Yokohama was not significantly 
affected, is safe and  operational.
Power outage confirmed at  the Nissan Technical Center (Atsugi City, 
Kanagawa Prefecture). Employees who  were remaining in that facility are now 
evacuating to the Nissan Advanced  Technology Center (Atsugi City, Kanagawa 
Prefecture) nearby.
There were a couple small  fires, but they were put out. Two workers were 
injured.
Toyota
Headquarters: Tokyo
As of now, Toyota has  confirmed that there have been no injuries at the 
Tokyo head office, as well as  the Higashifuji, Tochigi office, Yamanashi 
office, and Toyota Motor Tohoku  facilities. All TMC plants have restarted 
production.
We are presently gathering  information on Central Motor Corporation and 
Kanto Auto Works.
The plants that have  stopped production are Toyota subsidiary plants, 
including:
Toyota Motor Hokkaido  Plant, Toyota Motor Tohoku Plant, Central Motor 
Corporation Miyagi Plant, Kanto  Auto Works Iwate Plant
Employees at these  facilities have been evacuated to safe areas.
Two of Toyota’s main  suppliers, Boshoku and Denso, have suffered property 
damage.
Suzuki
Headquarters: Hamamatsu  City
The earthquake’s epicenter  was located 240 miles north of Tokyo while 
Suzuki’s headquarters are in  Hamamatsu City , which is 158 miles south of 
Tokyo. Suzuki Motor Corporation  announced there is currently no reported harm to 
Suzuki’s personnel,  headquarters or manufacturing plants located in the 
Shizuoka Prefecture  region.
If you are looking for someone in Japan  you can try 
http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en.
A friend in Japan just emailed me,  “Update: Fukushima reactor No. 1 — they
’re  “letting out” some of the “steam” as the temperature in the reactor 
is getting  too high. They say the air could be “nuclear-polluted.” Tokyo 
Electric says if  you stay outside the 10 km radius, you should be fine. 
Hmmmmm……..Do NOT go  near