Osaka was rocked by a fairly strong earthquake at 7:58AM this morning, and Suntory has announced the Yamazaki Distillery and all facilities will be closed for the day as a result. There are no reports of damage to the distillery though. Information is still rolling in -- looks like pretty much all public transport is currently shutdown, and about 170,000 homes are without power.
I'll keep an eye out for further announcements and will update this article as necessary.
Update 1:45PM: SankeiBiz reports that production is also currently suspended at the Yamazaki Distillery while the team conducts inspections. No restart timeline has been provided.
I’m Whiskey Richard, and I am the founder of nomunication.jp. I’ve lived in Tokyo for over a decade, and I am a certified Shochu Kikisake-shi/Shochu Sommelier (焼酎唎酒師), Cocktail Professor (カクテル検定１級), and I hold Whisky Kentei Level 3 (ウイスキー検定３級). Click here for more details about me and this site. Kampai!