Japanese companies manufacturing in China are on guard and...

Japanese companies manufacturing in China are on guard and have taken precautions following violent protests in China last weekend over the sovereignty of islands in the East China Sea. Due to the unrest, Canon has “temporarily suspended operations at three manufacturing companies to ensure the safety of the employees working there,” a spokeswoman for Canon U.S.A. told us Tuesday. The suspension, which began Monday, will continue through Wednesday, she said. The factories include Canon Zhuhai, which produces digital cameras, digital video camcorders, laser printers and contact image sensors; Canon Zhongshan Business Machines, a laser printer facility; and Canon (Suzhou), which produces color and monochrome multi-function printers, she said. As of midnight EDT Tuesday, there had been no reports of any damage or injuries in connection with Canon’s operations in China, the spokeswoman said. A spokesman for Panasonic’s U.S. operations told us: “On Sept. 15, protesters entered Panasonic’s Qingdao and Suzhou device factories and caused damage at both sites.” There were no injuries to personnel, Panasonic said, and the company didn’t quantify damages. In Qingdao, there has been damage to the factory building and equipment on the site, the spokesman told us, saying “the level of damage there is being investigated and the timing for restarting operations at the site is still undecided.” In Suzhou, he told us, the factory building and equipment at the site “have been partially damaged” but that “damage to production equipment was not severe.” The Panasonic spokesman didn’t elaborate on which components are manufactured at the plants. “Ensuring safety remains Panasonic’s top priority and operations at the site were partially restarted on September 17,” he said. Olympus, meanwhile, has two manufacturing facilities for its imaging business located in Guangdong Province. “As of today, Sept. 18th, these manufacturing facilities are operating,” Mark Miller, executive director-marketing services, told us. “As a precaution, our sales and service offices are temporarily closed,” he said. Olympus is not aware of any issues involving Olympus employees or facilities related to the protests, he said. “We plan to resume normal operations on Sept.19 but are monitoring the situation closely should conditions change,” he said. Sony closed two of its eight manufacturing facilities in China Tuesday “in order to ensure the safety of employees,” a spokeswoman for Sony Electronics in the U.S. told us. She didn’t say what the two plants produced. Sony plans to resume normal operations at its Chinese factories on Wednesday, she said.