Bridgestone stops Japan operations; India unaffected

Japanese tyre major Bridgestone today said its Indian operations will not be directly impacted by last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami that forced suspension of production at home due to damages in some facilities and equipments.

"The impact of the disaster on our production will be for a short time. For India, we have enough supply and stocks and we do not see any direct impact here," Bridgestone India Managing Director H Tanigawa said in a statement.

Starting operations in 1996, Bridgestone set up its manufacturing facility in India two years later at Kheda in Madhya Pradesh.

The company's Japanese operations have been stopped following the natural disaster to conduct safety measures.

"Though there is no critical damage at the factories, there are some facilities or equipment damaged, and earthquake aftershocks have been following. Therefore, we always keep the words "safety first" in our mind, when we take actions for recovery," the statement said.

Although the company did not specify when it is likely to restart operations in Japan, it said truck and bus tyres will be its first priority as and when it happens.

They are the commercial products required for the recovery of the devastated areas, it added.

"The Bridgestone Group would like to express its deepest condolences to the families, who have lost their loved ones as a result of the earthquake disaster on March 11, 2011, and we hope that the country and its people see a rapid recovery," Tanigawa said.

Bridgestone Group will contribute donations to assist with relief efforts following the tragedy, the statement said.

Last week, a devastating earthquake hit Japan that was followed by a monster tsunami that swept away houses, overturned ships, vehicles and set ablaze several buildings, including a petrochemical plant. It has left thousands of people dead or unaccounted for.

The country is now facing radiation scare with explosions occurring at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant's troubled reactors.

All the four plants at Fukushima are reported to be in critical stage as the core of the No 1, 2 and 3 are believed to have partially melted following last Friday's earthquake. All the four reactors have been shut down after the quake.

Kyodo quoting nuclear experts said radiation equivalent to 400 times the level to which people can be exposed in one year was detected near the reactors.