In November 2003, Sharp Corporation devised a Disaster Prevention Plan for a Major Earthquake, and is currently taking disaster prevention measures based on this plan.
Needless to say, human life must be given the highest priority. Therefore, the primary objective of this policy is, first of all, to ensure the safety of Sharp's employees and their families, and then to preserve Sharp's facilities and equipment and maintain operations, thereby fulfilling Sharp's role as a member of the local community (being a good corporate citizen).

Sharp has constructed a system that establishes the initial response when a natural disaster such as an earthquake or typhoon strikes or when a fire breaks out, and sets up rules and channels for disseminating information. When an emergency situation occurs, the plan mandates that information be collected quickly, such as what concerns the well-being of employees, including temporary staff and contract production personnel and office staff working on the premises of Sharp sites, as well as information on damage to facilities such as buildings, and forwarded to the Head Office from the site of the disaster. This will enable effective countermeasures to be set up and implemented.
Specifically, when a major earthquake occurs, Sharp will immediately set up an emergency headquarters at the Head Office and emergency response teams at bases in the area affected by the earthquake, and launch appropriate action incorporating all necessary functions and resources of the company.

As a part of disaster prevention, the Sharp Group of companies in Japan has distributed copies of a Disaster Prevention Action Guide to all employees and their families. This booklet provides guidelines on initial responses and actions to take in the event of a major earthquake or other disaster. Sharp has also distributed protective gear to all employees in Japan for use in an evacuation, such as safety helmets, gloves, dust masks, and smoke hoods. To ensure that all employees are ready to take appropriate action when a disaster does occur, Sharp holds mandatory disaster drills and firefighting training at all its sites on a regular basis, in which all employees try on the protective items. Further, Sharp has distributed satellite phones to all sites in Japan to provide a reliable means of communication during a large-scale disaster. This will ensure that information on the safety of employees and the extent of damage to facilities can be exchanged between the sites and the emergency headquarters. In fiscal 2006, Sharp Japan conducted a review and revision of all the disaster prevention plans (formulated by each individual business site and base) which clarify procedures such as initial responses and assuring the safety of employees when a disaster occurs. The revised version of each business site/base plan was distributed to every department therein, and this has served to boost disaster prevention awareness and skills of all employees at the department level as well.

The interruption of business activities such as production by a major disaster would likely lead to a disruption in the supply of products to customers, particularly to end users, loss of employment opportunity for employees, loss of corporate value, etc. Sharp is formulating business continuity plans (BCPs) that will minimize the impact on business of a large-scale disaster and restore business activities to normal as quickly as possible.
In fiscal 2007, Sharp will be expanding and enhancing the content of the BCP, and will be working to build a business continuity management (BCM) system using the PDCA cycle for continual review and improvement.