Toshiyuki Shiga, Chairman, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc.

Following the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan on March 11, assistance for the stricken areas has been streaming in from within Japan as well as from a large number of countries and regions around the world. On behalf of the Japanese automobile industry, I would like to express our most profound gratitude and appreciation for this tremendous outpouring of concern and support.

The member companies of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association are and will be doing everything in their capacity to contribute not only to relief operations to aid the survivors of this disaster but also to subsequent recovery efforts.

Compounding this tragedy, the earthquake and tsunami on March 11 also very severely damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company in Fukushima Prefecture. This was followed by a flood of confused information concerning the situation—much of it conflicting in content. JAMA has learned that the ensuing confusion has given rise to concern in some countries of influence of radioactive material on Japanese products.

It is important to note, however, that the Japanese government as well as local authorities in both the affected and broader areas are, in full transparency, disclosing the levels of radiation detected as a result of continuous monitoring of the situation. I would furthermore like to emphasize that in all the districts where JAMA member companies maintain production bases or related facilities, the radiation levels recorded do not represent any threat to human health.

Nevertheless, one of our fundamental responsibilities is to ensure that customers, both in Japan and overseas, are always able to use automobiles manufacture domestically in Japan with complete peace of mind. This is why the entire Japanese automobile industry will be immediately taking all the measures required to demonstrate clearly to the public the safety of its products.

                                                          *****

Click to view PDF