TOKYO — Tuesday’s powerful earthquake in southwest Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture has disrupted semiconductor and automotive production in the industrial center, affecting operations at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Toyota Motor and other manufacturers.
Kumamoto is home to TSMC’s main production hub in Japan. The 7.1-magnitude earthquake registered upper-5 (out of 7) on Japan’s seismic intensity scale in Kikuyo, where the chipmaker’s JASM plant is located.
Personnel promptly evacuated the site after the earthquake hit, a company spokesperson told Nikkei Asia on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a TSMC spokesperson said that post-quake inspections had confirmed the structure was safe. “The water supply, power and workplace safety systems are functioning normally. We are now inspecting equipment,” the spokesperson said. “Due to the relatively high seismic force of this earthquake, TSMC anticipates that a certain amount of time will be needed for related inspections and calibrations.”
The construction site of JASM’s second fab was unaffected, and work there had resumed on Wednesday after additional inspections, the spokesperson added.
Toyota Motor said Wednesday it will halt operations at three plants in Fukuoka Prefecture from Wednesday evening through Friday. The automaker said it will reassess safety, logistics and supplier conditions before deciding Friday whether to restart operations from Aug. 3. Toyota’s Miyata plant, which produces Lexus vehicles, and the Kokura and Kanda plants resumed production Wednesday morning after stopping the previous day.
Sony Group and Renesas Electronics have paused semiconductor production in the region, with no restart date set.
Renesas suspended operations at two Kumamoto plants after cracks, water leaks and fallen ceiling panels were found. The company is inspecting equipment and items still in production. No employee injuries were reported.
The earthquake also disrupted transport and utilities across the region. Road closures were in place on 13 sections of two expressways, as of 7 a.m. Wednesday. Rail services were also halted, with all Kyushu Shinkansen services suspended between Hakata Station and Kagoshima-Chuo Station, while four operators suspended services on six local rail lines. A total of 14 flights arriving at and departing from Aso Kumamoto Airport on Wednesday were cancelled.
As of 7:00 a.m., power outages affected about 36,900 households, while water service was disrupted to about 84,000 households and gas supplies had been suspended to roughly 9,500 households, according to the government. Telecommunications disruptions were also reported in parts of Kumamoto prefecture.
The earthquake also led to temporary closures at some convenience stores, drugstores and restaurants in Kumamoto.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday that 13 people had been confirmed dead. Speaking to reporters at the prime minister’s office, Takaichi said that as of 8:30 a.m., authorities had also confirmed widespread damage, including casualties, collapsed buildings, fires and damaged roads.
The earthquake struck around 4:27 p.m. Tuesday at a depth of about 16 kilometers, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported. It registered the maximum intensity of 7 on Japan’s seismic scale in the city of Uki and the town of Hikawa. Shaking of such intensity can tilt or topple buildings with low seismic resistance.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a news conference on Wednesday that, as of 8:30 a.m., authorities had reported seven people seriously injured and 29 others with minor injuries, in addition to the confirmed fatalities.
Eight fires broke out following the earthquake, but all have been extinguished.
At a Nippon Paper Industries mill in the city of Yatsushiro, part of a smokestack collapsed, trapping 11 people. Five were later confirmed dead and two people rescued were injured, while the whereabouts and conditions of the remaining four were unknown.
Following the earthquake, a deadly explosion occurred at Aeon Mall Kumamoto in the town of Kashima, causing part of the shopping center to collapse. Authorities said they were still investigating the cause, although they had received reports of a gas odor inside the building during search operations on Tuesday.
Aeon said three workers had died and one survivor had suffered a heart attack. Three other employees remained missing.
“We take with the utmost seriousness the fact that this tragedy resulted in the loss of precious lives. … I offer my heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives and extend my deepest apologies to their families and loved ones,” Aeon CEO Akio Yoshida said at a news conference in Kumamoto on Wednesday.
While the company said it would await an official announcement from the fire department regarding the cause of the explosion, it noted that assessments based on conditions at the scene suggested a high likelihood that the blast was caused by a liquefied petroleum (LP) gas leak.
“An explosion like this was beyond anything we had anticipated. In all the years we have operated Aeon malls, we have never experienced a gas explosion involving supplied LP gas,” Yoshida said.
The company has also set up a task force at its headquarters and is directing all available resources to Kumamoto.
Police, firefighters and Self-Defense Force troops are conducting search and rescue operations at both the mall and the paper mill, Kihara said. The Self-Defense Forces are carrying out disaster relief operations with about 4,600 personnel, including rescue efforts and emergency water supply assistance.
Kihara urged the public to remain alert over the coming week for the possibility of further earthquakes registering around 7 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale.
Additional reporting by Yuka Konishi and Cheng Ting-Fang