With scores of factories and corporate headquarters around the country, the Japanese photo industry has been disrupted, but not devastated, by Friday's earthquake and tsunami.
While most companies report that they are still assessing the damage caused by the most powerful quake in Japanese history, it seems that there have been no deaths, and injuries to camera company employees are relatively minor. Structural damage is still being assessed, but many factories have been shut down temporarily.
Sony was hardest hit. Japan's biggest exporter of consumer electronics, and a growing player in the still photography world, was forced to stop operations at ten factories and two research centers due to quake-related damage and power outages caused by emergencies at nuclear power plants. 1,000 Sony employees reportedly took shelter on the second floor of a nearby chemical products factory.
Nikon has taken four plants in Miyagi and Tochigi prefectures offline so they can assess damages, but has not reported any injuries to employees. Among products produced at Nikon's Sendai factory are the D3S, D3X, D700 and F6.
Canon has suspended operations at eight factories located in Northern Japan, and reports minor injuries to 12 of its employees.
A Sigma employee tweeted that there has been some damage to machinery and the building at Sigma's Aizu factory, but no injuries. Due to the rolling blackouts, Sigma has decided to suspend operations in two of its facilities.
In a statement, Tamron reports no structural damage or injuries, but the rolling blackouts and severely curtailed train service have caused the company to close its facilities for at least the next few days.
Panasonic reports minor injuries in one of its northern Japan factories, in Fukushima, where production of Lumix digital cameras has been halted. They report some damage but apparently it is not serious.
Epson has shut one of its factories due to tsunami damage, and report that at least two of its facilities have been damaged.
Pentax and Olympus are reporting no damage to their facilities and no injuries.
However, due to possible meltdowns at several of Japan's nuclear reactors, the Japanese government has instituted rolling blackouts, which are disrupting companies even if they were not otherwise affected by the quake or tzunami.
The tsunami has also destroyed many freighter ships, some of which may have been preparing to ship photographic equipment to destinations around the world. This situation is currently being assessed by the companies, but it is likely there will be shortages of some gear as a result.
Panasonic, Sony, Ricoh and Nikon have all reported that they have donated hundreds of millions of Yen to the relief effort.
This report was based on information published by TIPA, Amateur Photographer, Reuters, and statements from several manufacturers.
