Toyota and Nissan halt work at plants in northern Japan after earthquake

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima prefecture on late Wednesday

Toyota vehicles in Sendai, Japan. Work at the car maker's factories in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures was suspended on Thursday. Bloomberg

Car makers Toyota and Nissan suspended operations at their plants in northern Japan after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima prefecture late on Wednesday.

Work at Toyota’s factories in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures was still suspended on Thursday and the company is deciding whether to resume production later in the day, spokeswoman Shiori Hashimoto said.

Toyota’s popular Yaris compact car is among the vehicles made at the plants.

Nissan halted production at its factory in the city of Iwaki in Fukushima. The plant was already scheduled to close on Thursday and Friday as part of Nissan’s employee vaccination schedule, spokeswoman Azusa Momose said.

While there was some damage at Toyota’s plants, there haven’t been any reports of employee injuries, according to the company.

Nissan said all of its employees have been moved to safety and there was no damage affecting production or injuries reported at its Iwaki factory, Ms Momose said.

Some equipment was damaged at Denso's Fukushima plant, a spokeswoman for the Toyota supplier said on Thursday. Denso is assessing how production might be impacted, she said.

Toyota also halted operations at its engine factory in Miyagi but operations are set to resume on Thursday after safety checks, Ms Hashimoto said.

Wednesday night’s earthquake killed four people and injured more than 100.

Toyota’s shares were up 1.8 per cent at the trading break in Tokyo while Nissan added 1.5 per cent and Denso rose 3.9 per cent.