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Nissan curtails production in Japan after earthquake

TOKYO — Nissan will adjust production in Fukuoka prefecture this week due to disruptions in parts supplies after an earthquake hit northeastern Japan, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The earthquake on Saturday affected auto parts maker Hitachi Astemo, the sources said.

Hitachi Astemo, a joint venture between Hitachi and Honda, produces parts for car suspension systems at its plant in Fukushima prefecture which are used by automakers including Nissan and Toyota.

Nissan shortened the operating time of two lines at its Fukuoka plant, which produces Serena minivans, from Tuesday night, and will halt production on Saturday, sources said.

But a Nissan spokeswoman said the automaker was seeing no impact on production so far.

Elsewhere, Toyota said on Tuesday it will temporarily suspend production on 14 lines at nine group factories in Japan as some of its suppliers were affected by the quake.

Toyota has halted production due to the shutdown of the Hitachi Astemo suspension plant, the Nikkei daily reported Wednesday.

Hitachi Astemo said on Wednesday its plant in Fukushima prefecture has halted production since Monday due to a power blackout after the quake, a Hitachi Astemo spokesman said.

The company requires time to inspect the plant for any power-related issues, such as electric leakage, he added. Hitachi Astemo did not say when operations would resume.

The strong 7.1-magnitude quake injured scores of people and triggered widespread power outages. It was considered an aftershock to the 9.0 earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011.

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