Japanese earthquake forces a number of companies to stop operations

ILLUSTRATION VIA ANTARA

JAKARTA - A magnitude 7.1 earthquake that shook Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, forced a number of semiconductor factories and other industries to stop operations, raising concerns about the economic impact if the closure lasted long.

Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a subsidiary of Sony Group Corp., suspended operations at its Kikuyo plant shortly after the quake struck on Tuesday.

The company has not yet set a schedule for the resumption of production activities.

Two other major chipmakers, Renesas Electronics Corp. and Tokyo Electron Ltd., also suspended operations at their respective two plants in Kumamoto.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. also halted production at its plants in Koshi and Kikuchi City.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc. had reopened three of its plants in Fukuoka Prefecture after conducting safety checks.

However, the company later decided to stop operations again from Wednesday evening to Friday evening.

Toyota cited logistics disruptions and supplier conditions as reasons for the temporary halt.

Honda Motor Co. also halted production at its motorcycle and engine plants in Ozu City until Friday.

Meanwhile, Nissan Motor Co. announced it would suspend some operations at its two plants in Fukuoka Prefecture from Thursday afternoon due to delays in component supplies.

Production halts also occurred in various other industrial sectors.

Suntory Holdings Ltd. suspended operations at its brewery in Kashima, while Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. temporarily shut down its plant in Uto.

Nippon Paper Industries Co. is still assessing the level of damage at the Yatsushiro plant after the smokestack at the facility suffered severe damage.

The company has not been able to confirm when production will resume.

The quake also disrupted logistics services in Kumamoto.

Japan Post suspended services at post offices across prefectures, while Yamato Transport halted package handling.

Sagawa Express also temporarily suspended package pick-up and delivery services in a number of areas.