TOYOTA CITY -

TOYOTA CITY — In light of the massive earthquake in Japan and subsequent tsunami that wreaked havoc there, Japanese automakers halted production at several plants in the island nation late last week.

Several Japanese automakers with major U.S. presence  — including Toyota and Nissan — released statements detailing work stoppages and providing details about the conditions of their respective headquarters.

Toyota, for example, said Friday that the disaster led to four of its subsidiary plants halting production, including the Toyota Motor Hokkaido Plant, Toyota Motor Tohoku Plant, the Central Motor Corp. Miyagi Plant and the Kanto Auto Works Iwate Plant.

“Employees at these facilities have been evacuated to safe areas,” the automaker said in a statement. “We are also currently assessing the situation at our suppliers, dealers and the impact on North American import vehicles.”

The automaker emphasized that production has started back up at all TMC facilities.

Toyota — which installed a company-wide emergency task force for assessment and taking initial measures — said Friday that its head office in Japan had no injuries, nor were there any injuries in the company’s Higashifuji, Tochigi office, Yamanashi office or Toyota Motor Tohoku facilities.

The company was still collecting information regarding Central Motor Corp. and Kanto Auto Works as of press time.

“Toyota’s number one priority is to support our employees at TMC, our partner companies, suppliers and dealers through this situation. We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available,” the automaker stressed.

Meanwhile, Nissan said Friday that it had halted production at its Japanese factories through Sunday, but the automaker stressed that its headquarters were not harmed.

“At this time, we are currently confirming the safety of all Nissan employees and continue to assess the situation at our Japanese facilities, but we do not believe our operations have been significantly affected,” Nissan said in a statement. “Here in the Americas we are operating normally and we do not anticipate any immediate impact on Americas operations, facilities, dealers or customers.”

The company added: “Nissan’s global headquarters building in Yokohama was not significantly affected, is safe and operational. So far, there are no reports of employee casualties and employee safety precautions are underway at all locations.

“Nissan’s team in the Americas will monitor the operational status of our Japan facilities through the weekend for any scheduling updates,” officials noted.

Moving along, American Honda Motor Co. said in a statement Friday that the Tochigi area — home to several Honda operations — saw extensive damage.

The company said that its parent company confirmed the death of an employee at the automaker’s Tochigi R&D center and noted that over 30 employees in the area were injured.

“Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has confirmed the fatality of a Honda R&D associate at the Tochigi R&D Center, when a wall collapsed in a cafeteria. The associate was male, 43 years old,” American Honda’s statement read.

“More than 30 Honda associates were injured in the Tochigi area from collapsing ceilings and other damage during the earthquake,” officials added. “Honda would like to express its sincere condolences to the family of the associate who died as a result of this earthquake. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan and all those injured or displaced by this tragedy.”

Officials noted Friday that Honda’s Tochigi plant, its two plants in Saitama and its two plants in Hamamatsu would be closed through Monday.

The automaker said that its Suzuka plant was open Friday but would be shut down Monday. Honda’s Kumamoto plant — which is in southern Japan — is still open.

“Honda in Japan is assessing the resumption of operations and the long-term impact to its operations from the Japan earthquake,” officials shared.

As far as its North American operations, American Honda said that the company has seen “no immediate impact,” noting that the great majority of its U.S. vehicles are built in the North America with parts that have been sourced in North America.

With some parts being sourced from Japan, Honda is evaluating whether or not there would be any long-term impacts on the company’s North American production and what these might be.

“There will be no major impact on the availability of Honda products in North America. Honda Fit, Insight and CR-Z, and Acura TSX and RL are produced in Japan. A small percentage of CR-Vs are produced in Japan,” officials stated.

“Honda has confirmed the well-being of nearly all Honda associates on assignment in Japan from North America, and continues to seek such confirmation,” they added. “Honda’s operations in North America and globally will do everything they can to support the recovery of Honda’s operations in Japan.”

Meanwhile, Suzuki released a statement Friday revealing there were no reports of its parent company suffering harm.

“Suzuki Motor Corp. today announced there is currently no reported harm to Suzuki’s personnel, headquarters or manufacturing plants located in the Shizuoka Prefecture region,” the company said in a statement.

“The earthquake’s epicenter was located 240 miles north of Tokyo while Suzuki’s headquarters are in Hamamatsu City, which is 158 miles south of Tokyo,” officials explained. “We are currently gathering information about any additional effects to Suzuki’s operations, including port distribution, plant and dealership operations, as well as our vendors and suppliers located in the damaged areas.”

The company went on to note that power outages have made communicating difficult. However, American Suzuki stressed that it would provide updates as they are available via media.suzuki.com/auto and its social-media outlets.