Earthquake in Japan and Impact on Nissan Operations (Update)

During the overnight hours in the Americas, northern Japan was hit with an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, and numerous tsunamis are causing heavy damage across the Pacific coastline in Asia. Additionally, tsunami alerts have been issued for communities along the entire North America Pacific coastline.

At this time, we are currently confirming the safety of all Nissan employees and continue to assess the situation at our Japanese facilities, but we do not believe our operations have been significantly affected. Here in the Americas we are operating normally and we do not anticipate any immediate impact on Americas operations, facilities, dealers or customers.

Operations have been 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. So far, there are no reports of employee casualties and employee safety precautions are underway at all locations. Nissan’s team in the Americas will monitor the operational status of our Japan facilities through the weekend for any scheduling updates.

Report following the earthquake in Northern Japan (update)

At 14:46 JST, a strong earthquake hit Northern Japan. The following is a report related to Nissan operations.

Facilities

* Iwaki Plant (Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture), Tochigi Plant (Kawachi County, Tochigi Prefecture), Yokohama Plant (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture), Oppama Plant (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture), Zama Operations Center (Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture) all suspended operations immediately.
* Small fires broke out at the Tochigi Plant and the Iwaki Plant casting facilities but have been extinguished.

Employees

* Evacuations have begun at locations close to the coastline, where tsunami warnings have been issued.
* Two employees at Tochigi Plant suffered minor injuries.
* The company has advised employees to remain inside facilities where it is safe. However, those who are able to walk home are allowed to leave their offices based on their personal discretion.
* 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.

Plans after tomorrow

* Plants will suspend operations originally planned for Saturday March 12 and Sunday March 13.
* Operations after Monday, March 14, for all plants and facilities including the Global Headquarters (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture), will be decided after all assessments including suppliers, are conducted tomorrow, March 12.

Dealerships

* Some dealerships in the Kanto region (area surrounding Tokyo) have reported damage. Reports regarding dealerships in Northern Japan are yet to be confirmed.