Daily Buzz

Japan: Thanks to US Device Companies

By: Norbert Sparrow

15 March, 2011

Miki Anzai, Associate Editor of Japan Medical Design & Manufacturing Technology writes:

 

More than 10,000 people have been confirmed dead or missing following Friday's catastrophic earthquake, the worst casualty figures from a natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Hanshin earthquake. I’m writing this from the Tokyo bureau, which is 250 km south of the most affected area, but we are still experiencing aftershocks.

 

Following the devastating quake, a number of US medical device companies including Medtronic, Abbott Laboratories and Amgen announced that they would donate a combined US$5 million toward relief efforts in Japan. We can’t thank them enough for their warm support.

 

Fukushima Prefecture, one of the hardest hit regions by the killer quake, has been actively pursuing a project to attract the next-generation medtech industry to the region since 2002. I hope for the region’s earliest reconstruction.