Issue Date: Vol. 51, No. 3, March 2011, Posted On: 3/14/2011
JVMA Foresees Extensive Earthquake, Tsunami Damage To Vending
by Staff Reporter
Takashi Kurosaki, Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association, JVMA, vending machine, vending industry, vending machine business, National Automatic Merchandising Association, European Vending Association
TOKYO, Japan -- Japan suffered an earthquake of historic magnitude on March 11. The magnitude 9 temblor occurred on the ocean floor east of Miyagi Prefecture (northeast of Tokyo), and produced a lethal seismic wave (tsunami), more than 30 feet high, that devastated an extensive coastal region centered on the historic city of Sendai.
The initial tremor and aftershocks were experienced throughout Japan.
Takashi Kurosaki, secretary-general of the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association, has emailed the National Automatic Merchandising Association, the European Vending Association and Vending Times to report that the JVMA staff is safe.
Kurosaki is endeavoring to assess the impact of the disaster on the vending industry, a task made much more difficult by the disruption of communications and the difficulty of reaching the hardest-hit areas.
He is certain, though, that the tsunami destroyed a great many vending machines.