A massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan overnight and triggered a tsunami. The quake hit about 300 km northeast of Tokyo.
Roads have been damaged, airports closed, and train and cell phone
services disrupted. This is one of the biggest earthquakes recorded in
Japan in 140 years and reports of casualties are just beginning to
trickle in.
The ensuing damage has caused several plants to stop production, including Honda’s Tochigi Proving Ground and R&D facility in Tochigi prefecture, where a collapsed wall killed one man. Toyota and parts maker Denso have also closed several plants.
It’s unknown if other Big Four factories have been hit, but this quake may affect delivery of new motorcycles as it hit at the peak of the production season. The Great Hanshin Earthquake that hit near Kobe, Japan on January 17, 1995 caused a disruption in the production of Kawasaki motorcycles that year.
The 1995 earthquake also knocked out a Dunlop motorcycle tire plant, messing up worldwide supply for a couple of years. Not such a big deal, given the huge human cost but an inconvenience for sure…
Motorbike production is probably the last thing on their minds I’m sure, however, it is noteworthy for a motorcycle website after all.
So sad for that great nation, I hope they can recover from this.
I’m sure due to such as fragile global market, everyone will feel economic repercussions due to the scale of this, given Japan is one of the more powerful nations.