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▼ Coronavirus Outbreak Another Setback For Typhoon-Hit Areas In Japan
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The ongoing outbreak of the new coronavirus has dealt an additional blow to areas in eastern Japan that were devastated by Typhoon No. 19 last October.
Half a year has passed since the typhoon, but local economies in the affected areas are unable to begin recovering, as the spreading of the corornavirus is causing new harm in places that were flooded during the disaster.
More than 90% of the companies at the Koriyama Central Industrial Park in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, had their facilities in the complex damaged due to flooding of the Abukuma River and other rivers. About 30% of the companies remain unable to fully resume operations.
“The future is still not in sight,” one manager lamented.
Land plots in the Koriyama Central Industrial Park were first made availalbe in 1965. The complex stretches along the Abukuma River, which runs about three kilometers southeast from JR Koriyama Station.
A total of 280 companies, mainly manufacturers, have plants and other facilities at the industrial park. The complex drives the local economy, providing about 8,000 jobs.
However, facilities belonging to 258 of the companies, or 92%, were damaged by Typhoon No. 19. The total value of the facilities damaged, including some that were submerged, exceeded ¥40 billion.
Rent All Fukushima, a company that sets up event facilities and rents items necessary for events, saw its office submerged in flood waters about 70 centimeters deep. Most of its rental service goods were underwater.
The company narrowly managed to complete work it had been contracted for in its busiest season late last year, with help from other companies in the same industry.
Since March this year, however, many events have been canceled due to the spread of the new coronavirus.
“Because the Tokyo Olympics were postponed, all our work related to the torch relay, which was scheduled to start in Fukushima Prefecture, was canceled,” a senior official of the company said.
Exports slow
Production lines for Horaiya Honten Co., which sells miso and koji rice malt products, were damaged by the typhoon, and the company suffered about ¥40 million in damage.
It was a serious blow for Horaiya Honten, which had annual sales of about ¥700 million. In addition, due to the unusually warm weather last winter, sales of amazake sweet fermented rice wine, one of the flagship products for the company, fell by about 20% from the previous winter season.
The spread of the new coronavirus was felt in another area as well — some of the company’s exports to overseas markets, which had been expanding in recent years, have stopped.
Horaiya Honten President Hirohito Yaginuma, 44, said, “If this situation continues, we’ll have to throw away our products for export.”
According to the Koriyama city government, about 70% of the companies in the industrial complex are operating there, but the remaining about 30% are either completely dormant or have been able to resume operations only partially.
Some companies have already begun leaving.
In December last year, Tokyo-based Hitachi Ltd. decided to relocate the main business activities of its Koriyama branch inside the industrial complex to another prefecture.
“Unless measures to prevent future flooding are completed, the business base may be damaged again. The decision was made for the safety of our employees and the stable supply of our products,” a Hitachi official said.
In January this year, the Koriyama city government interviewed the companies about their desires, and set up a branch office in the industrial complex that provides, among other things, explanations about the city’s assistance measures.
The Koriyama government is also mediating the relocation of business facilities to other industrial complexes in the city to keep them inside Koriyama.
However, it is feared that some business operators may decide to discontinue operations due to the spread of the new coronavirus. “This situation is beyond what we imagined,” a senior city government official said in embarrassment.
Norio Ogawa, president of the Koriyama Jidosha Gakko driving school and head of the industrial complex association, said: “I have to do my best. But I just can’t see what the future holds.”
Half a year has passed since the typhoon, but local economies in the affected areas are unable to begin recovering, as the spreading of the corornavirus is causing new harm in places that were flooded during the disaster.
More than 90% of the companies at the Koriyama Central Industrial Park in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, had their facilities in the complex damaged due to flooding of the Abukuma River and other rivers. About 30% of the companies remain unable to fully resume operations.
“The future is still not in sight,” one manager lamented.
Land plots in the Koriyama Central Industrial Park were first made availalbe in 1965. The complex stretches along the Abukuma River, which runs about three kilometers southeast from JR Koriyama Station.
A total of 280 companies, mainly manufacturers, have plants and other facilities at the industrial park. The complex drives the local economy, providing about 8,000 jobs.
However, facilities belonging to 258 of the companies, or 92%, were damaged by Typhoon No. 19. The total value of the facilities damaged, including some that were submerged, exceeded ¥40 billion.
Rent All Fukushima, a company that sets up event facilities and rents items necessary for events, saw its office submerged in flood waters about 70 centimeters deep. Most of its rental service goods were underwater.
The company narrowly managed to complete work it had been contracted for in its busiest season late last year, with help from other companies in the same industry.
Since March this year, however, many events have been canceled due to the spread of the new coronavirus.
“Because the Tokyo Olympics were postponed, all our work related to the torch relay, which was scheduled to start in Fukushima Prefecture, was canceled,” a senior official of the company said.
Exports slow
Production lines for Horaiya Honten Co., which sells miso and koji rice malt products, were damaged by the typhoon, and the company suffered about ¥40 million in damage.
It was a serious blow for Horaiya Honten, which had annual sales of about ¥700 million. In addition, due to the unusually warm weather last winter, sales of amazake sweet fermented rice wine, one of the flagship products for the company, fell by about 20% from the previous winter season.
The spread of the new coronavirus was felt in another area as well — some of the company’s exports to overseas markets, which had been expanding in recent years, have stopped.
Horaiya Honten President Hirohito Yaginuma, 44, said, “If this situation continues, we’ll have to throw away our products for export.”
According to the Koriyama city government, about 70% of the companies in the industrial complex are operating there, but the remaining about 30% are either completely dormant or have been able to resume operations only partially.
Some companies have already begun leaving.
In December last year, Tokyo-based Hitachi Ltd. decided to relocate the main business activities of its Koriyama branch inside the industrial complex to another prefecture.
“Unless measures to prevent future flooding are completed, the business base may be damaged again. The decision was made for the safety of our employees and the stable supply of our products,” a Hitachi official said.
In January this year, the Koriyama city government interviewed the companies about their desires, and set up a branch office in the industrial complex that provides, among other things, explanations about the city’s assistance measures.
The Koriyama government is also mediating the relocation of business facilities to other industrial complexes in the city to keep them inside Koriyama.
However, it is feared that some business operators may decide to discontinue operations due to the spread of the new coronavirus. “This situation is beyond what we imagined,” a senior city government official said in embarrassment.
Norio Ogawa, president of the Koriyama Jidosha Gakko driving school and head of the industrial complex association, said: “I have to do my best. But I just can’t see what the future holds.”
- April 13, 2020
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