Kumamoto steelmakers ride out quake but logistics a challenge

The 4.1 magnitude aftershock that shook Japan's Kumamoto prefecture early Thursday morning local time reminded factory managers that risks to their operations remain, even those whose plants had survived Tuesday's much larger quake relatively unscathed.

The preceding quake, which reached the highest level of 7 on the Japanese seismic scale, struck at around 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, causing damage throughout most of Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu. As of early Thursday morning, 17 deaths had been recorded while by 8 a.m. also on