Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.

Nippon Paper announced on the 10th that it has established a "Damage Investigation Committee" to determine the cause of the damage and collapse of the smokestack at its Yatsushiro Mill, which was hit by the July 28 Kumamoto earthquake. The committee is made up of experts in earthquake engineering. At the Yatsushiro Mill, the earthquake caused the smokestack to collapse, resulting in nine deaths and other severe damage. Removal of part of the smokestack began in late August, but a fire broke out during demolition work on the 3rd of this month, and the prospect for resuming operations remains unclear.

Nippon Paper announced on the 5th that it has changed its consolidated earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027 from the previous forecast to undetermined. This is to assess the impact of the damage at its Yatsushiro mill from the Kumamoto earthquake in July, which registered a maximum seismic intensity of 7. The mill suffered extensive damage, including the collapse of multiple chimneys, and there is no timeline for resuming operations. Additionally, an accident at a U.S. subsidiary in May, where a tank rupture killed 11 people, has led to an ongoing suspension of operations, making it impossible to gauge the impact on earnings. President Akira Sebe emphasized that he is not currently considering closing the Yatsushiro mill.

The Japan Paper Association and domestic paper manufacturers are considering supply support for newsprint following the suspension of operations at Nippon Paper Industries' Yatsushiro mill due to the Kumamoto earthquake. The Yatsushiro mill suffered extensive damage, including collapsed smokestacks, and there is no timeline for recovery. Nippon Paper also produces newsprint at its Iwanuma mill, but to ensure an industry-wide response, other major players such as Oji Holdings and Daio Paper, along with the Japan Paper Association, will take the lead in providing support.

The death toll from the earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan's southwestern Kyushu island has risen to 28, with at least 62 injured, six of them seriously. Soldiers and rescue workers are racing to find survivors trapped under collapsed buildings, especially at the Aeon Mall in Kashima City, where the second floor collapsed and a subsequent gas explosion killed four people and left three others missing from among the thousands inside at the time. At the Nippon Paper Industries plant in Yatsushiro City, a collapsed chimney killed five people and another four are believed trapped under the debris. The first foreign fatality has also been reported, a Vietnamese technical intern trainee who died when a crane fell on him at a factory. The magnitude 7.1 quake struck on Tuesday, leaving nearly 34,900 homes without power, forcing more than 8,800 people to evacuate to shelters, and keeping high-speed rail services suspended.

The Yatsushiro Mill of Nippon Paper in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, which recorded a strong 6 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in the July 28, 2026 earthquake, suffered major damage including a broken and collapsed chimney. According to Kumamoto Prefecture and prefectural police, 11 employees were trapped on the first and second floors of the mill. Four were rescued, but two of them were found in cardiopulmonary arrest, the other two were seriously injured, and the safety of the remaining seven is unknown. The Yatsushiro Mill is Nippon Paper's only mill in Kyushu and one of its main production bases for graphic paper used in publishing, newspapers, and copy paper. However, under its medium-term management plan through fiscal 2030, the company plans to consolidate its graphic paper production bases from the current six to three, and production at the Yatsushiro Mill was expected to end in the near future. Depending on the extent of the damage, this could lead to a decision to bring forward the halt of graphic paper production. Nippon Paper also had a serious accident at its US subsidiary's plant in May this year, where a chemical tank collapse killed 11 people. As of the end of March 2026, its net interest-bearing debt stood at 675.2 billion yen, 1.2 times its equity, leaving little room in its business environment.

A powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southwestern Japan on Tuesday evening, July 28, prompting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest chipmaker, to evacuate all employees from its plant in Kumamoto Prefecture. Meanwhile, Honda Motor suspended operations at its Kumamoto factory, which produces automobiles and motorcycles, until Wednesday evening, July 29, and its subsidiary Astemo Uki halted production at a plant in the same prefecture, with several injuries reported. Toyota Motor Kyushu announced a temporary production suspension at all three of its plants in Fukuoka Prefecture for safety inspections, with plans to resume operations on Wednesday morning. Nippon Paper Industries disclosed that the chimney at its Yatsushiro plant in Kumamoto Prefecture suffered severe damage, with the upper section collapsing. Additionally, Kura Sushi closed six outlets in Kumamoto Prefecture, Seven-Eleven Japan shut some branches, Koikeya stopped production at its local plant, and transport companies including Sagawa Express, Yamato Transport, and Japan Post temporarily suspended parcel delivery services in Kumamoto Prefecture and some other areas.

In the earthquake on the afternoon of the 28th that registered a seismic intensity of 7 in Kumamoto Prefecture, a chimney collapsed at Nippon Paper's Yatsushiro plant, and the company is checking for casualties. Aeon has received reports of an explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto and is urgently assessing the damage. TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, temporarily suspended operations at its Kumamoto plant and evacuated employees outdoors. The disaster is causing widespread economic impact, including factory shutdowns and delivery delays in the affected areas.