Industry Representatives in Japan Struggle to Recover Following Earthquake
March 15, 2011

As those throughout Japan are struggling to recover after last week’s earthquake and tsunami, those within the glass industry there are doing the same.

Two glass manufacturers in the country have announced major donations to the recovery effort there. Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. (AGC) has announced that it is donating $3.7 million “to help recovery efforts in communities affected by the earthquake and tsunamis that hit Northern Japan.”

“In addition, the AGC Group will assess the need in the affected areas and provide

necessary in-kind donation,” the company adds. “The Group will provide every possible assistance in relief and recovery operations in the region.”

Pilkington parent NSG Group has announced it making a monetary donation of $1.2 million to the recovery efforts.

“We, NSG Group, would like to extend our deepest condolences for those who lost their lives in the Tohoku Pacific Offshore Earthquake in Japan and convey our sincere sympathies to those who were affected in the disaster areas,” writes the company in its statement announcing the donation.

Misako Nakatani of GlasWeld Japan Co. Ltd., based in Kyoto City, provided an eye-witness account of what she’s seen and endured over the last several days. Nakatani was in Tokyo exhibiting at a home show when the earthquake struck. “I couldn’t stand up on the floor,” she says.

And the days following have seen further devastation. “After that all traffic is confused, all restaurant are closed, the food [has] become dissatisfied, and the gasoline dissatisfied,” she says. “ … I came back to Kyoto by thinking barely.”

Nakatani’s home, fortunately, is approximately 460 miles from where the earthquake struck, she says. “But East Japan is the worst situation in the world now,” she adds. “Everyday is continued the aftershock, the tsunami, [and] the damage of explosion from the meltdown in the nuclear plant now. The biggest problem is victims’ water, food and spiritual aspect.”

The American Red Cross is one of several groups providing assistance to the recovery efforts, along with an organization called InterAction.

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