Toyota stops production in Japan after a cyberattack hits one of its suppliers

Toyota had to shut down production in Japan on Tuesday due to a "system failure" at one of its domestic suppliers.

The supplier — Kojima Industries, which provides plastic and other parts to Toyota — was apparently the victim of a cyberattack, according to multiple media reports. Toyota told NPR it could not comment on the details because the incident occurred at a supplier.

The suspected attack forced Toyota, one of the world's largest auto manufacturers, to suspend operations at 14 of its Japanese plants on Tuesday local time, affecting the production of about 13,000 vehicles.

"We apologize to our customers and suppliers for any inconvenience this may cause," a Toyota spokesperson said in a statement. "We will continue to work with our suppliers to strengthen the supply chain and make every effort to deliver vehicles to our customers as soon as possible."

The company said there was no impact on production in North America.

While it was unclear who caused the apparent cyberattack, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his government would investigate whether Russia was involved, Reuters reported.

"It is difficult to say whether this has anything to do with Russia before making thorough checks," he said, according to the outlet.

It came the same day Japan joined Western countries in restricting transactions with Russia's central bank and imposing new sanctions on Belarus.

Toyota and other automakers were forced to halt production in North America earlier this month because deliveries of car parts were being held up by protesters blocking a bridge spanning the U.S.-Canada border. [Copyright 2022 NPR]