TOKYO (The Japan News/ANN) - Following deadly shootings in the United States that are causing social unrest, Japanese companies have warned their employees to stay away from rallies and gatherings.
Japanese companies have raised their alert levels amid concerns over deteriorating safety in the United States, as the Thursday shooting in Dallas could cause social unrest across the United States. Japan’s tourism industry is concerned about a possible impact on travel businesses as the summer holiday season nears.
In Dallas, Sekisui Chemical Co. has a subsidiary producing raw materials for synthetic fibres and adhesive agents.
In response to the deadly shootings, the company gave instructions to stay away from rallies or gatherings in e-mails to the supervisory managers of its US businesses and employees making business trips to the United States.
Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) is collaborating on a project to build a Shinkansen railway line between Dallas and Houston, the commercial operation of which is scheduled to start in 2022.
Currently, four JR Tokai employees are in Dallas on a business trip for on-site research.
“We are taking countermeasures, putting top priority on securing the safety of our employees,” a spokesperson of the firm said.
On Friday, however, Hitachi, Ltd., which has a group company based in Dallas, instructed its employees afresh to remain cautious regarding their safety.
The state of Texas is home to a large number of oil development projects, with trading houses and natural resource-related firms operating there.
One of them is Japan’s JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp., with an office in Houston. Amid the deterioration of regional safety, a spokesperson for the company said, “We’ll take measures to secure our employees’ safety, as the importance of this has increased.”
At Japan Airlines Co., which began operating flights from Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in November last year, a spokesperson said they will watch how the situation develops.