Apple on Tuesday said it would postpone the launch of the iPad 2 in Japan in light of the country's earthquake. It had planned to ship the tablet on March 25 but now has no set date. The company decided that the country's welfare and Apple's own employees had higher priority.
"We are delaying the launch of the iPad 2 in Japan while the country and our teams focus on recovering from the recent disaster," press representative Natalie Kerris said.
Other countries in the launch, including Canada and larger western European countries, are still on track.
The country has faced dramatic repercussions from the earthquake this Friday, most of all thousands of lives lost but also the risk of a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear reactor that has triggered evacuations. Losing the plant has led to planned, rolling blackouts even in Tokyo. Technology firms have been affected across the country, with Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Sony, and others all having temporarily stopped factories.
Apple has been one of the more proactive companies in providing help and voluntarily used its stores in Ginza and other locations as communications hubs for people stranded on Friday who wanted to confirm their safety and get in touch with relatives.
Readers are encouraged to donate through iTunes to help relief efforts in the country.