Automakers have already had to cut production because of difficulties finding semiconductors and other components as the pandemic disrupts manufacturing around the world.

A spike in infections has forced governments in Asia to impose fresh lockdowns and curbs, which are causing disruptions in parts supply across the region, adding to a global chip shortage.

The three-day suspension is likely to mean a production fall of 3,500 vehicles.

The automaker has asked suppliers to make up for lost output so it can build an additional 97,000 vehicles between December and the end of March, Reuters reported.

The automaker is betting that its cars will appeal to younger Japanese buyers who are also more open to trying South Korean imports, thanks to the local success of electronics brands and hip Korean culture.

The move provides continuity and senior leadership as the country’s carmakers grapple with the shift to carbon neutrality.

The quake triggered a tsunami, caused blackouts as far away as Tokyo, derailed the country's famed bullet train and buckled highways that serve as critical supply arteries.

The latest stoppages will bring lost output to 9,000 vehicles, the automaker said, and affect production of Lexus models and the Land Cruiser.

Both have pleaded guilty to charges of aiding Ghosn’s escape to Beirut, a development that was just as shocking as the November 2018 arrest of the auto executive for alleged financial crimes.

Toyota said it would slash its global production plan for April by 150,000 units to 750,000 vehicles, compared with the original schedule reported to suppliers earlier this year.

Nissan and Mitsubishi are using technology developed by Mitsubishi on the discontinued i-MiEV to tap huge Japanese demand for all-electric runabouts in the minicar segment.

Michael Taylor should receive a two year, 10-month sentence, while Peter Taylor, his son, should receive a two year, six-month sentence for helping Ghosn flee Japan, prosecutors said at a hearing Friday.

The planned four-day halt to production at a Tsutsumi factory line, which makes Camry and Corolla models, will cut vehicle output by as many as 1,500 vehicles.

Greg Kelly, accompanied by his wife, Dee, was escorted to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, by the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, and checked in to a flight for home.

Kelly said coming home after his three-year legal odyssey in Japan was “like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz,” as he choked up with emotion during a press conference from Nashville. “There’s no place like home,” he said.

 Americans won't be affected because the Land Cruiser was dropped in the U.S.

The number of EV charging stations in Japan fell to around 29,200, down from more than 30,300 the previous year.

Ghosn, the fugitive automotive icon, says the Tokyo court’s conviction of his onetime deputy Greg Kelly is a “warning” to foreigners doing business in Japan.

The American father and son who helped the auto titan escape his Japanese prosecution have profusely apologized to judges and prosecutors for springing him.

The latest January suspensions hit 19 lines at 11 plants in Japan, out of a total of 28 lines in 14 plants.

The Nissan Z car, a 400-hp, twin-turbo symbol of the struggling Japanese automaker's revival, is the latest product launch to be derailed by global supply chain woes.

The American father-son team that spirited former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn out of Japan inside a box were sentenced to years in a Japanese prison after a judge rejected their pleas for leniency.

The automaker expects the impact to extend beyond this month and said production in early October will also fall short of initial expectations.

Nissan said it wants to increase its ratio of women managers in Japan to 13 percent by 2023, up from roughly 10 percent this year.

Rahm Emanuel, nominated as the next top U.S. diplomat to the longtime Asian ally, says he has ordered a review of Kelly’s legal odyssey in Japan and is making the matter a “top priority.”