Japanese automakers to cut output in China

Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. are reducing production in China in the wake of anti-Japan protests that shuttered dealerships and darkened their sales outlook in the world's biggest car market, a news report said Wednesday. Both companies were to close factories early for additional days of downtime ahead of a scheduled eight-day closure for holidays to celebrate the Autumn Festival and the National Day. Toyota shut its mainstay Chinese plant in Guangdong Province from Wednesday, adding four days of closure to the holidays that start on Sunday, the Nikkei business daily reported, without citing sources. The company's sales in China fell 30 per cent since an eruption of anti-Japan protests across the country, the Nikkei said. The Guangdong facility will also stop running night shifts when it resumes production, the Nikkei said, reducing its production capacity from the current 30,000 vehicles a month with two daily shifts. Nissan was to suspend output from Thursday at three plants, three days earlier than scheduled, the daily said. One of its plants in Guangdong Province stopped running night shifts on September 19, cutting production from 50,000 vehicles a month. The night shift was not planned to resume after the holidays, the report said. Japan's purchase of three disputed islands from a private owner triggered anti-Japan protests in many Chinese cities last week. The Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are also claimed by Taiwan and China.