[soybean]

From the Yanagisawa website:

The employees of Yanagisawa (and their families) are all safe after the earthquake and tsunami that have devastated Japan. Thank you for all of your thoughts during this time and we urge you to help in any way that you can during this difficult time for the people of Japan.

 

[milandro]

I have read this a few days ago when somebody else quoted it on a different thread about Yanagisawa news , it is good to hear that and I wish them all the best because in the aftermath of the Earthquake and Tsunami now the people of Japan have to face the very, very serious nuclear disaster that is developing as we speak. I hope that the country will be able to face this imminent danger and I am following it with great trepidation

 

[Kermit]

Although my father is a nuclear engineer, I know almost nothing about nuclear plants and what is going on with the one in Japan. I'm guessing that's the case for many people. I found this "in plain English" explanation of what's happening at the Japanese plant. Now it makes more sense...

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2011/03/world/interactive.nuclear.japan/index.html?hpt=C2

As a side note, a couple of days ago, I was watching TV and a news program was interviewing an American expert in the nuclear field. As she was explaining what went wrong in Japan, she said that what really caused the problems was the fact that the backup generators were kept in the plant's basement, and while they made it through the earthquake just fine, the subsequent tsumani flooded them. She followed that by genuinely asking "I mean, who could have predicted that?" WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED IT? IT'S A FREAKING NUCLEAR POWER PLANT BUILT IN A KNOWN TSUNAMI ZONE!!!!!!!! THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WAS PREDICTED. Ugh. That to me shows a complete lack of creativity and forethought on the part of their disaster planners. Wow.

 

[SAXISMYAXE]

The more truth that slowly comes out about this, the more agonizing the situation becomes. This isn't just another natural disaster, it's a world wide catastrophe that just keeps growing and growing.

 

[Stephen Howard]

I've just seen this link to a statement by Yamaha;

http://uk.yamaha.com/en/news_events/about_yamaha/pressrelease_ycj_march_2011/

Regards,

 

[soybean]

I've just seen this link to a statement by Yamaha…

Thanks for that link. It is reproduced below. Please note the March 15 date.

15/3/2011

Company Name: YAMAHA CORPORATION
President and Representative Director: Mitsuru Umemura
Code Number: 7951 (First Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange)
Effects of 2011 Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake

We at Yamaha wish to express our sincerest sympathies to all those who are experiencing the severe effects of the 2011 Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake, which occurred on March 11, 2011.

The Yamaha Group is endeavoring to gather information on the status of damage in the aftermath of the earthquake. As of the present time, we have the following summary information of the effects of the earthquake on Yamaha.

1. Status of Effects on Human Beings

At present, we have not received any reports of injuries to Yamaha Corporation personnel. Please note that at present there is one employee of a Yamaha subsidiary that we have not been able to contact, but we are continuing to work to obtain information on this person.

2. Effects on Business Locations

Our sales office in Sendai, Japan, and retail shops of sales companies located in the disaster area sustained some slight damage, and we have closed some retail stores and music schools in this area.

Our Kakegawa factory (for the production of pianos) and Toyooka factory (for the production of wind and other instruments), both located in Shizuoka Prefecture, are continuing normal operations. However, the operating hours of the Saitama factory (located in Fujimino city in Saitama Prefecture, for the production of wind instruments) are likely to be affected by the planned rolling electricity blackouts.

3. Impact on Yamaha's Business Performance

We are currently investigating the effects of the earthquake on performance. In the event that we find the outlook is for a major impact on business results, we will make an announcement at an early date.