Mazda Motor will temporarily stop accepting orders from the United States due to a shortage of auto parts, caused by the disasters.
Mazda models being affected by the shut down including the SUV models CX-7 and CX-9, and the Mazda3.
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Want that new Ford in Black, or Red? You’ll have to wait, even paint supplies are running short
It was looking like Ford would escape supply problems from Japan, nope. Ford announced that specific colors for their new vehicles will be in short supply, due to the disasters in Japan.
Yes, even paint comes from Japan.
An ingredient used to make Ford’s Tuxedo Black, and three shades of red, come from Japan. That ingredient is called Xirallic.
Ford is trying to find a substitute ingredient.
List of countries banning food from Japan grows
Most Asian countries have banned food from specific Japanese prefectures, some Asian countries banned all food from Japan.
The United States has banned products from radiation zones.
The European Union is the latest group of countries to announce testing and bans of foods from 12 Japanese prefectures.
The food ban will probably not affect Japan’s export business, unlike electronics and cars, because food products make up only 1% of Japan’s exports. Where it will hurt most for Japan, is domestically. Japan will now have to import more food to make up for any loss at home.
Tokyo Electric admits they are not sure how to “proceed” at this time
In response to a reporter’s question, of how they are going to proceed with reactor 3 (with possible core damage), the TEPCo official said they do not know at this time.
This might be another reason why voluntary evacuation has been announced.
Tokyo Electric speculates that reactor core is leaking
TEPCo officials speculate that the contaminated water in the basement of reactor 3, might have come from the reactor core.
It might have been caused by high pressure inside the reactor core. It could have been caused by valves, or the core was “compromised”.
Japanese companies say main reason for shutdown is damage to buildings
A survey of Japanese businesses that shut down, or reduced production, because of the 9.0 quake/tsunami, shows that at least half blame it on damage to their buildings.
The next biggest reason is destroyed infrastructure: Lack of electricity, destroyed roads/rails.
Honda continues plant shut down
Honda said today, that the suspension of car production at its Saitama and Suzuka factories will be extended to 03 April 2011.
They hope to resume motorcycle production at their Kumamoto factory on Monday.
Tsunami effect, Undular Bore, hit at least 20 times North East Honshu
Video aired on NHK, shows multiple tsunami waves racing inland on March 11.
An hour and a half after the 9.0 quake, video was taken by helicopter, which flew from Sendai City south to Iwaki City.
The tsunami waves swallowed everything in their path. People in tall buildings can bee seen scrambling for the roof tops.
Professor Fumihiko Imamura at the Tohoku University Disaster Control Research Center, says he can see a tsunami rare effect, called undular bore, hit Natori City, Miyagi.
Undular Bore is a phenomenon in which a series of tsunami waves surge high near the shore and flood onto land one after another. At least 20 undular bores hit the north east (Pacific) coast of Honshu.
Toyota restarts hybrid production
People who just have to have a hybrid car will be glad to know that Toyota plans to start making them again.
Toyota’s hybrids are made in Japan, and production was shut down due to parts shortage (thank Mother Earth, 11 March 2011 quake-tsunami). They plan to resume production on Monday.
Production of non-hybrid Toyota vehicles, made in Japan, remains halted.
No farming in parts of Japan thanks to radiation
Some farming villages that escaped the tsunami, did not escape radiation from Fukukshima Daiichi nuclear plant.
What has people amazed is that these farming villages are outside the government’s 30km nuclear disaster zone.
Soil samples have revealed that radiation levels are more than 1,000 times normal. Wind and rain is suspected for bringing the radiation outside the 30km zone.
This is proof that nuclear disasters affected far greater areas than what most people think. This will just add to the world’s growing food supply problems.