ICOM America says the company's facilities in Japan suffered only minor damage from the March 11 earthquake, but that there may be interruptions in its supply chain from vendors in the quake/tsunami zone and that other issues, such as rolling power blackouts, may slow production.Ray Novak, N9JA, ICOM America's Division Manager for Amateur and Receiver Products, released a statement reporting that no one on the company staff is known to have been injured as a result of the earthquakes or tsunami. "There are no damages reported at Icom's headquarters in Osaka or at either of our two main factories in Wakayama," the statement says. "Both Osaka and Wakayama are located far south of the most severely affected areas. Icom did suffer some minor damage at our Tokyo and Sendai branch offices."
"Most of Icom's facilities and systems are ready to get back to normal business," the statement continued. "However, supplier logistics, commuting issues and future power disruptions will affect our company. It is too soon to tell how big an impact the earthquake and its aftermath will have on Icom."
The statement concluded with a request for donations to help with disaster relief efforts: "We are fortunate that most of the Icom family has so far survived this crisis intact. Other families have not been so fortunate, and many lives have been lost. Crisis relief donations are requested through the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org. Google has also posted a helpful crisis response page on how to get involved."
Check the CQ Newsroom page regularly for updates on the disaster in Japan, especially as it relates to amateur radio.