Japanese firm investigates radio explosions in Lebanon

JAstana-based Icom Inc., whose brand appears on the walkie-talkies exploded in Lebanon, said it stopped producing the model allegedly used in the attacks a decade ago and was still investigating the matter.

Icom exported its IC-V82 two-way radio to regions including the Middle East until October 2014, when it stopped producing and selling the devices, the Osaka-based company said in a statement on Thursday. It also stopped producing batteries needed to operate the main unit, it said.

Read more: 6 Questions, Answers, About Lebanon’s Deadly Pager Attacks

Thousands of electronic devices, including pagers and walkie-talkies, have exploded in the past two days, killing at least 26 people and wounding more than 3,000. The militant group Hezbollah has accused the Israeli government of organizing the attacks, and tensions in the region have further escalated. Israel has declined to comment.

Among the many unresolved questions is how the explosives were placed in the devices. If the Icom walkie-talkies were first manufactured a decade ago, it is possible they were modified long after they were sold to their original customers. The company cannot determine whether the products are its own, as it claims.

The company said all of its radios are manufactured at a factory in Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan. The company said it follows safety protocols outlined in government regulations and does not outsource production overseas.

Given that photos of the devices show severe damage around the battery compartment, the batteries may have been tampered with with explosives after purchase, Icom CEO Yoshiki Enomoto said in a Kyodo report. The company’s shares rose 2.6% amid a broad rally in Japanese stocks.

Detonations of everyday electronic devices could herald a new kind of terrorism, according to Mitsuru Fukuda, a professor of risk management at Nihon University. “This could increase pressure on companies to expand risk oversight in their supply chains” to include distribution and delivery, he said.

The Japanese government is also collecting information on the matter, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi. Icom also won a contract in the 1990s to supply transceivers to the U.S. Defense Department.