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Nippon Paper Group, Inc. Notice of Status of Recovery Work at Mills

Friday 22. April 2011 - Damaged by the Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake ---Iwanuma Mill to Restart Operation of Second Newsprint Production Facilities on April 24---

Nippon Paper Group, Inc. is pleased to announce the status of recovery work at Ishinomaki Mill, Iwanuma Mill, and Nakoso Mill of Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (President: Yoshio Haga), our major subsidiary.
1. Status of recovery work at damaged mills of Nippon Paper Industries ?Ishinomaki Mill (Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture)
We have continued working vigorously to remove mud and debris from the mill premise and the paper making machine building that were deposited by the tsunami, with physical support from other mills. As the removal work progresses, we plan to investigate the details of damages sustained by facilities that were flooded by the tsunami, and devise specific plans for operation restart based on the results.
?Iwanuma Mill (Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture) Operation of the first newsprint production facilities restarted on April 11, and production has continued well. The second newsprint production facilities will restart operation on April 24. The remaining two production facilities will be back on-stream in May, at which point the Mill is expected to have made a full recovery.
?Nakoso Mill (Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture) Operation of one coating machine restarted on April 5, followed by two units of coating machines in succession. However, the Mill buildings were damaged in the powerful aftershocks of April 11 and 12, which had their epicenter along the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. Consequently, operation at all facilities has temporarily halted. Although subject to future aftershocks, for the time being we expect that operations will start again in stages from the end of April.
2. Effect on performance Calculations are underway to determine the effects of the Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake on performance. Once clarified, the results will be disclosed promptly.