Automative giant Toyota Motor Corp is suspending production at all its factories in Japan because of an approaching typhoon, the company said yesterday.
“From today’s number-two [afternoon] shift through tomorrow’s number-one [daytime] shift, we will suspend all the production lines at domestic factories,” a Toyota spokesman told reporters.
About 28 production lines at 14 group companies were to suspend operations from yesterday afternoon, the spokesman said.
Photo: Reuters
One line at truckmaker Hino Motors Ltd was to resume operations this morning, the spokesman added.
The decision came as “extremely strong” Typhoon Shanshan approached southern Japan, packing gusts of up to 252kph and bringing widespread heavy rain.
The storm is expected to spend the rest of the week traveling above or near Japan toward its northeastern region, with authorities advising tens of thousands of people to evacuate and issuing the highest warning level for wind and storm surges on the main southern island of Kyushu.
“Typhoon Shanshan is expected to approach southern Kyushu with extremely strong force through Thursday and it may make landfall,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.
“It is expected that violent winds, high waves and storm surge at levels that many people have never experienced before may occur,” Hayashi said.
For southern Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency predicted 1,100mm of precipitation in the 48 hours to tomorrow morning.
The agency also issued its highest “special warning” for violent storms, waves and high tides in parts of the Kagoshima region of Kyushu, with authorities there advising 56,000 people to evacuate.
A video on NHK TV showed roof tiles being blown off houses, broken windows and felled trees.
The warnings indicate that the “possibility that a major disaster prompted by [the typhoon] is extremely high,” the agency’s chief forecaster Satoshi Sugimoto told a news conference.
Japan Airlines Co canceled 172 domestic flights and six international flights scheduled for yesterday and today, while All Nippon Airways Co nixed 219 domestic flights and four international ones yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The cancelations affected about 25,000 people.
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