Japanese auto makers plan mass shutdowns

HONG KONG — Toyota and other Japanese automotive giants will idle all or most domestic production facilities on Monday and potentially throughout much of the week as they gauge the impact of Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and problems in procuring components for assembly lines.

Toyota Motor Corp. will shut production at all 12 of its Japanese assembly plants, according to reports.

The shutdowns will affect five domestic assembly plants as well as those operated by subsidiaries, according to a report by Kyodo on Saturday. Many of the automaker’s affiliated parts-producers will also shutter production, reports said.

Toyota said the shutdowns are also intended to give time to for the company to assess whether its employees and their families are OK.

Nissan said it will suspend production at six of its domestic facilities on Monday, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires.

The company said the shutdowns are necessary “to assess the damage to our facilities and equipment, as well as discussing parts delivery with our suppliers.”

Two of its plants were damaged by Friday’s quake, though it’s not clear how badly the facilities were affected or how long it will be before they are operable.

Honda Motor Co. said all but one of its five domestic plants will be closed on Monday, but it hasn’t decided if they’ll be back up Tuesday, Dow Jones reported.

Honda’s motorcycle plant in western Japan will be the sole plant to remain in operation. Honda has suspended operations at plants in Tochigi, Sayama, Hamamatsu and Suzuka, reports said.

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