Suzuki to shift out of Japan tsunami zone

Suzuki isn't taking chances when the next Big One hits Japan.

It is looking at moving its factories and research and development facilities from the Pacific coast, the potential epicentre of the next earthquake, to an inland site on higher ground.

Japan's Nikkei business daily said Suzuki was planning to invest NZ$600 million in the shift, expected to take three years.

"When you consider the risks of earthquake, tsunami, radiation and liquefaction, an executive who ignores realignment is set for failure," Chairman Osamu Suzuki was quoted as saying.

Scientists say there is an 87 per cent chance of a magnitude-8.0 quake hitting the Pacific coastline in the next 30 years.

- NZ HERALD