Toyota, Sony halt ops after Japan quake

Factories of key Japan companies damaged

Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s biggest-selling automaker, said on Sunday it would suspend much of its production at plants across Japan this week after earthquakes in the country’s south led to a shortage of parts, while some other manufacturers extended stoppages due to damage to factories.

The earthquakes on Thursday and Saturday, which killed at least 41 people, reflected the vulnerability of Japanese companies to supply chain disruptions caused by natural disasters, and also highlighted the “just in time” philosophy pioneered by Toyota and followed by many others.

Companies had made efforts to address these problems after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which led to a nuclear disaster and nearly 20,000 deaths, badly dented output. The way that companies deal with the impact of the latest quakes will likely show how robust these changes have been.

Honda Motor said it would keep production suspended at its motorcycle plant near the quake-hit city of Kumamoto in southern Japan through Friday, though Nissan Motor said it would resume operations at its plants north of the epicentre from Monday.

Electronics giant Sony Corp said production would remain halted at its image sensor plant in Kumamoto, as the electronics giant assessed structural and equipment damage.

But the company said it had resumed full operations at its plants in nearby Nagasaki and Oita which also produce the sensors — used in smartphone cameras, including Apple iPhone. Also on Sunday, semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics confirmed it had sustained damage to some equipment at its plant in Kumamoto which produces microcontroller chips for automobiles. Having suspended operations following the first earthquake on Thursday, the chipmaker said it would assess damage at the entire facility before deciding when to resume production.

Meanwhile, rescuers used shovels to dig through mountains of soil on Sunday as they raced against the threat of more landslides to reach people still trapped by two big earthquakes in Japan.

At least 41 people are known to have died in the double disaster and 11 are still missing, feared buried in shattered houses or under torrents of mud.

Heavy rain forecast for the area around Kumamoto did not materialise on Sunday, offering some relief for officials who cautioned more aftershocks might spark further mudslides.

Tens of thousands of people had spent the night in temporary accommodation. Up to 25,000 personnel fanned out through stricken villages where scores of traditional-style houses were shattered by the quake, or buried in the earth and rock that cascaded down hillsides.

In badly hit Minami-Aso, dozens of rescuers worked with hand-shovels in a delicate operation to reach at least one person who has not been seen since the quake.