TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd said it plans to restart production on Friday at two of four factories whose operations were halted following an earthquake that jolted the country’s northeast late on Wednesday.
The disruption caused by the magnitude 7.4 temblor has shone a spotlight on Japan’s leading role in producing precision components vital for electronics and autos production when global supply chains are under COVID-19 pandemic related strain.
Kyoto-based Murata, the top global supplier of ceramic capacitors uses in smartphones and cars, said it aims to restart production at two facilities in Fukushima prefecture.
The two other factories remain out of action, a company spokesperson said, noting that a fire that broke out at a factory in Tome in Miyagi prefecture which produces chip inductors caused some damage to equipment.
Automotive chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp said that a stop on two factories and a partial stop on a third remained in place.
Tech conglomerate Sony Group Corp is in the process of gradually restarting production at two factories in Miyagi prefecture and a third in Yamagata prefecture hit by the quake, a spokesperson said.
There is some damage to the facility in Shiroishi, Miyagi prefecture, producing laser diodes but the impact on production is limited, Sony said.
(Reporting by Shinji Kitamura, Tim Kelly and Sam Nussey; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs)
