TOKYO --
The impact of the magnitude-7.6 earthquake that struck Japan on Monday has spread
to retailing, services and transport, with infrastructure damage increasing the
possibility of widespread disruption across manufacturing and other supply
chains.
As
of Tuesday morning, about 160 FamilyMart convenience stores in Ishikawa,
Toyama, Fukui and Niigata prefectures were temporarily closed because of the
temblor, which affected a wide area around the Noto Peninsula region in
Ishikawa prefecture.
The
closings were due to local evacuation orders and to ensure staffers' safety.
Some stores were able to open later in the day, with the number of closed
stores in the afternoon down to 56. Deliveries to stores in the region have
been delayed.
Convenience
store chains 7-Eleven and Lawson have also temporarily shuttered certain stores
and are expecting delays in deliveries. Local department store chain Daiwa
closed stores Tuesday as well.
The
effects are spreading to logistics. As of Tuesday afternoon, package carrier
Yamato Transport has suspended service to and from all of Ishikawa and
certain areas of Toyama, and halted operations at directly managed locations
throughout Ishikawa.
The
company is prioritizing the safety of delivery workers and other
employees and has no concrete plans to resume service. Owing to traffic
restrictions caused by the earthquake, there are also delays in the delivery of
packages to and from Hokkaido, Niigata, Toyama and Fukui prefectures.
Sagawa
Express had paused deliveries to certain areas, including in Ishikawa
prefecture. Japan Post is experiencing delays in mail and package deliveries
across a wide area on the Sea of Japan coast.
In
manufacturing, Nippon Steel's Naoetsu Area works, which produces stainless
steel products, suspended operations after the quake hit. The facility was
undergoing inspection as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, and no decision has been made on
when to resume production.
Toshiba
said Tuesday that it halted a facility run by subsidiary Kaga Toshiba
Electronics, which serves as a key production hub for power semiconductors. It
said it had not decided when the plant will restart.
Murata
Manufacturing said Tuesday that that it is assessing damage at two facilities
near the earthquake's epicenter, with an eye on worker safety. The company
holds a roughly 40% global market share in multilayer ceramic capacitors for
smartphones.
Murata
said it has not identified severe injuries or damage at its 11 other plants in
Ishikawa, Fukui and Toyama prefectures.
No
safety concerns have been identified at nuclear power plants in the affected
areas so far.