Assembly lines halted by islands row

Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co are slowing their production in the world's biggest auto market as tension between Japan and China depresses demand for their vehicles.

The Japanese automakers' decision to reduce their output in China comes after protests broke out over the Japanese government's illegal "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands.

"For the time being, I think you're going to see Japanese automakers' sales in China decrease by 20 to 30 percent," said Koji Endo, auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan Co Ltd.

"The last time we had protests like this was in 2010 and they only affected things for about a month. But I think it's going to be different this time. This is going to have serious consequences."

Nissan, the top Japanese automaker in China measured by sales, said on Wednesday that it will bring production to a stop at a joint venture it has in China starting on Thursday, three days earlier than planned. The halt is to extend through the National Day holiday next week.

Toyota said it planned to suspend production at its plants in Tianjin and Guangzhou starting on Wednesday, also earlier than initially scheduled. The company denied media reports saying it would halt its production in China for the entire month of October.

Xu Yimin, group manager for Toyota China's corporate communication department, said the Toyota factory will be back in operation after the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, which will last from Sunday to Oct 7 this year. He said the company's plans do not call for bringing production to a "complete halt".

He said the decrease in demand has led to an early holiday for workers at some of the factories.

Toyota's exports to China "will be adjusted according to market demand", Xu said.

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