--- description: Icom Inc., whose brand appears on devices that exploded in Lebanon, said it halted production a decade ago of the model allegedly used in the attacks. title: Japanese Company Investigates Exploding Walkie-Talkies in Lebanon image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt043a502dce7c884f/698a5b01457a525519d6ac42/lebanon-attack-walkie-talkie.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [conflict](/tag/conflict/) ## conflict Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Japanese Brand on Exploding Walkie-Talkies Says They Haven’t Made the Devices for 10 Years ## Video: Exploding Pagers in Lebanon and Syria Kill at Least 8, Including Members of Hezbollah [Watch (HLS stream): Exploding Pagers in Lebanon and Syria Kill at Least 8, Including Members of Hezbollah](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JtPYHsq0.m3u8) (3:02)  _Published 2024-09-17. Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously across Lebanon and in parts of Syria on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, including members of the militant group Hezbollah and a girl, and wounding the Iranian ambassador, government and Hezbollah officials said._ by [Eddy Duan / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Eddy Duan / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Jan 19, 2026 12:40 PM CUTPublished: Sep 19, 2024 7:33 AM CUT  A man holds a walkie-talkie during the funeral of people killed in the explosions of pagers across Lebanon, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, on Sept. 18, 2024. A man holds a walkie-talkie during the funeral of people killed in the explosions of pagers across Lebanon, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, on Sept. 18, 2024.Anwar Amro—AFP/Getty Images by [Eddy Duan / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Eddy Duan / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Jan 19, 2026 12:40 PM CUTPublished: Sep 19, 2024 7:33 AM CUT Japan’s Icom Inc., whose brand appears on walkie-talkies that exploded in Lebanon, [said](https://www.icomjapan.com/news/4203/ "undefined") it halted production a decade ago of the model allegedly used in the attacks and is still investigating the situation. Icom exported its IC-V82 two-way radio to regions including the Middle East until October 2014, when it stopped making and selling the devices, the Osaka-based company said in a statement Thursday. It has also discontinued production of the batteries needed to operate the main unit, it said. The company earlier had [warned](https://www.icomjapan.com/explore/genuine%5Finfo/ "undefined") customers that almost all IC-V82s on the market are counterfeit. **Read More:** [_6 Questions About the Deadly Exploding Pager Attacks in Lebanon, Answered_](https://time.com/7022458/exploding-pager-attack-lebanon-hezbollah-israel/ "undefined") Thousands of electronic devices, including pagers and walkie-talkies, exploded over the last two days, killing at least 26 people and wounding more than 3,000\. The militant group Hezbollah has accused the Israeli government of orchestrating the attacks, with tensions escalating further in the region. Israel has declined to comment. Among the many outstanding questions is how explosive materials were planted in the devices. If the Icom walkie-talkies are genuine and manufactured a decade ago, it’s likely they were modified well after sale to their original customers. The company can’t determine if the walkie-talkies are its own, but said the exploded devices appear to lack the hologram labels attached to its products. The company said all its radios are produced at a factory in Wakayama Prefecture in Western Japan. It said it follows safety protocols outlined by government regulations and does not outsource manufacturing overseas. Given that photographs of the devices show severe damage around the battery compartment, the batteries may have been retrofitted with explosives, Icom director Yoshiki Enomoto was quoted as saying in a Kyodo [report](https://www.47news.jp/11504423.html "undefined"). The company’s shares rose 2.6% amid a broad rally in Japanese stocks. The detonations of everyday electronics may herald a new type of terrorism, according to Mitsuru Fukuda, professor of risk management at Nihon University. “This may increase pressure on companies to expand risk oversight of their supply chains” to include distribution and delivery, he said. The Japanese government is also collecting information regarding the matter, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said. Icom won a contract in the 1990s to [supply](https://www.icomjapan.com/company/history/ "undefined") the U.S. Department of Defense with transceivers. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7022598/lebanon-walkie-talkies-explosion-japan-icom/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7022598/lebanon-walkie-talkies-explosion-japan-icom/"},"headline":"Japanese Brand on Exploding Walkie-Talkies Says They Haven’t Made the Devices for 10 Years","datePublished":"2024-09-19T07:33:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T12:40:20.000Z","description":"Icom Inc., whose brand appears on devices that exploded in Lebanon, said it halted production a decade ago of the model allegedly used in the attacks.","url":"https://time.com/7022598/lebanon-walkie-talkies-explosion-japan-icom/","keywords":["conflict","wire","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt043a502dce7c884f/698a5b01457a525519d6ac42/lebanon-attack-walkie-talkie.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eddy Duan / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt043a502dce7c884f/698a5b01457a525519d6ac42/lebanon-attack-walkie-talkie.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lebanon Walkie-Talkie Explosion","caption":"A man holds a walkie-talkie during the funeral of people killed in the explosions of pagers across Lebanon, in Beirut's southern suburbs, on Sept. 18, 2024.","creditText":"Anwar Amro—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/conflict/","name":"conflict"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7022598/lebanon-walkie-talkies-explosion-japan-icom/","name":"Japanese Brand on Exploding Walkie-Talkies Says They Haven’t Made the Devices for 10 Years"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Exploding Pagers in Lebanon and Syria Kill at Least 8, Including Members of Hezbollah","description":"Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously across Lebanon and in parts of Syria on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, including members of the militant group Hezbollah and a girl, and wounding the Iranian ambassador, government and Hezbollah officials said.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/JtPYHsq0/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-09-17T21:31:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JtPYHsq0.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7022598/lebanon-walkie-talkies-explosion-japan-icom/","duration":"PT3M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7022598/lebanon-walkie-talkies-explosion-japan-icom/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```