By Max Sato
(MaceNews) – Toyota Motor said Monday that it will suspend all domestic factory operations on Tuesday after one of its parts suppliers was hit by a suspected cyberattack, adding to challenges for the auto industry that is already suffering from global chip shortages and pandemic-caused supply bottlenecks.
It is unknown who staged the attack and whether it is linked to the official announcement Monday that Tokyo is joining its allies in imposing further economic sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including suspending dealings with Russia’s central bank.
Asked whether the government believes Russia is behind the suspected cyberattack, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters, “It is difficult to say whether it has anything to do with Russia without confirmation.”
Toyota and its subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors plan to halt factory operations, which would cut production of 13,000 vehicles per day, about a third of Toyota’s global output, news reports said.
“Due to a system failure at a domestic supplier, Kojima Industries Corp, we have decided to suspend the operation of 28 lines at 14 plants in Japan on Tuesday, March 1st (both 1st and 2nd shifts),” Toyota said in a statement late on Monday.
Toyota said last month it planned to produce 950,000 unis globally in March, about 100,000 lower than its earlier estimate in light of semiconductor shortages. It would still surpass the company’s record monthly output of about 870,000 hit in March 2012.
Government data released Monday showed that Japan’s industrial production posted the second straight drop, down 1.3% on month in January, slipping after a record 7.0% rise in November, as a spike in Omicron-led coronavirus cases caused some auto factories to suspend operations and supply shortages lingered.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry projected that output would rebound by 5.7% in February and edge up 0.1% in March based on its survey of manufacturers, but its conservative forecast for February is a modest 0.7% rise.
The incident also shows the vulnerability of Toyota’s just-in-time production and delivery system, which keeps inventories of parts and products at minimum levels and is efficient under normal circumstances.
Last week, the METI warned Japanese firms against the threat of cyberattacks in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Financial Services Agency also urged financial institutions to beef up cyber security against possible attacks.
On Sunday Japan announced that it would join other countries in blocking some Russian banks from accessing the SWIFT international payment system. Tokyo also pledged $100 million in emergency aid to Ukraine.