Toyota and Nissan Restart Fukuoka Plants Aug 6; Honda Extends Quake Shutdown

Fukuoka Plants Restart as Quake-Damaged Parts Supply Recovers

A week after the July 28 earthquake that shook the Kumamoto region, Japan's major automakers are returning production online at very different speeds. Toyota said on August 5 that its three Toyota Motor Kyushu plants in Fukuoka Prefecture — Miyata in Miyawaka, Kanda in Kanda-machi and Kokura in Kitakyushu — will restart production on August 6. Nissan also said it will bring two plants run by two group companies in Kanda-machi, Fukuoka, back to normal operation the same day, after parts-supply delays had forced a partial halt.

The Fukuoka plants had stopped after the earthquake on July 28, resumed briefly on the morning of July 29 and shut again that evening while safety checks were completed and logistics and parts sourcing conditions were reassessed. Those conditions have now improved enough for production to restart, according to the companies. The Miyata plant is Toyota's base for its Lexus line.

The recovery is uneven across the industry. Mitsubishi Motors resumed production of some models at its Mizushima plant in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, on August 5, after halting them on July 30. Honda, however, said as of August 4 that it will keep its two main four-wheel-vehicle plants — the Saitama plant in Yorii and Ogawa, and the Suzuka plant in Mie Prefecture — idle until August 19, adding three down days after the August 8–16 summer holiday period. Honda said the damage suffered by its parts suppliers is still affecting supply. Its motorcycle plant in Kumamoto Prefecture remains closed until August 7 for restoration work. Toyota's Tahara plant in Aichi Prefecture, excluding a few lines stopped for construction, will restart on August 17 after the summer break.

In short, normalisation is proceeding in stages, but a full return to regular output across all four makers will still take time.

Why Honda Stays Down While Toyota and Nissan Rebuild

The restart and shutdown dates below are reported facts from the automakers; the explanation of why they differ is analysis.

Why Honda Stays Down While Toyota and Nissan Rebuild

Toyota judged that safety checks, transport and parts sourcing had improved enough to resume output at all three Fukuoka plants on August 6 — about nine days after the July 28 earthquake — and Nissan reached the same conclusion for its two Kanda-machi plants. Honda reports the opposite: damage at its parts suppliers is still holding back components, so its Saitama and Suzuka plants will not run until August 19. None of the automakers has named the affected suppliers or quantified the production loss, so the true scale of the gap cannot yet be measured. The episode is a reminder of how just-in-time assembly works: one unrecovered parts maker is enough to idle a finished-vehicle line.

The August Calendar Softens Honda's Loss

Honda's extended stoppage is less costly than the headline date suggests. The Saitama plant was already scheduled to halt on August 5–7 and Suzuka on August 6–7, followed by the company-wide August 8–16 summer holiday. Extending the break by three days to August 19 therefore removes roughly three additional working days of output, not eleven. The same calendar logic applies to Toyota: its Tahara plant restarts on August 17, immediately after the holiday window, so that resumption tracks the normal seasonal schedule rather than an accelerated recovery.

Lexus Output at Miyata Returns First

Among the plants restarting on August 6 is Toyota's Miyata factory, the group's base for Lexus production. That gives Toyota's premium export line a roughly two-week lead over vehicles from Honda's halted plants — not from any demand advantage, but because its supplier chain recovered faster. In practical terms, Fukuoka-built Toyota and Nissan vehicles should flow back into dealer stock before Honda models built at Saitama and Suzuka.

What the Staggered Restarts Mean for Dealers, Suppliers and Buyers

For dealers, parts suppliers and car buyers, the practical consequences depend on which brand's production chain they rely on.

• Honda dealers and buyers: the Saitama and Suzuka plants stay idle until August 19 — after the August 8–16 summer break plus three added days — so Honda car deliveries built on those lines will be slow to arrive; check specific model build schedules before promising dates.
• Toyota and Nissan supply chains: with the three Fukuoka plants and the two Kanda-machi plants restarting on August 6, suppliers serving these factories should be ready for output to step back up immediately; Miyata's Lexus line resumes at the same time.
• Parts suppliers in the affected region: recovery is uneven — Toyota and Nissan are back, Mitsubishi is only partially back, and Honda's supplier base is still impaired. Confirm which automaker restart applies to your own orders before ramping up capacity.
• Suppliers to Toyota's Tahara plant: production resumes August 17 after the summer holidays, apart from lines stopped for construction — a reference point for post-holiday order volumes.
• Dealers handling Mitsubishi: Mizushima resumed only some models on August 5; verify exactly which vehicle lines are back before confirming delivery dates.