A friend in Japan sent this announcement dated Jan. 11.

www.nikon-image.com/jpn/news/info/info060111.htm

It's in Japanese, but the gist of it is...

"Given the rapid contraction of the film camera market and the growth in digital, Nikon will focus its resources on digital camera business and will re-assess film camera product lines. NIKON WILL CEASE PRODUCTION OF ALL LARGE FORMAT LENSES AND ENLARGING LENSES, as well as most film SLR bodies and manual-focus lenses. Sales of these products will continue until the inventory is cleared...We sincerely hope your continued support...blah, blah..."

There is no exact date for the end of production. The bottom chart of the linked page shows SLR bodies and manual focus lenses that will continue to be produced.

The day was to come, and it's certainly not the end of the world. Also it will likely be some time before we actually feel it, given the fact that the 450mm Nikkor M is still available new month after the production ended. But I feel sad.