Manufacturer to relocate plant to avoid disaster
News On Japan via NHKReloaded -- Oct 19
A major Japanese precision equipment maker plans to relocate its plant to the Sea of Japan coast to avoid the negative impact of a predicted major earthquake along the country's Pacific coast.
Tokyo's Nikkiso Company manufactures medical equipment and aircraft parts at its plant in Makinohara City on the Pacific coast of Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.
But the Japanese government released projections in August suggesting more than 300,000 people could be killed in a massive earthquake and tsunami that could possibly occur near the Nankai Trough along the country's Pacific coast.
The manufacturer decided to move the plant to the Sea of Japan coast city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture.
The company's CEO Toshihiko Kai visited Ishikawa prefectural office on Thursday. He reported the relocation plan to Ishikawa Governor Masanori Tanimoto and Kanazawa Mayor Yukiyoshi Yamano.
Kai said it would be difficult for a medical equipment maker in Shizuoka to fulfill its heavy social responsibility in the event of major disaster.
Source: NHKReloaded
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