Automakers and auto parts makers formally agreed Thursday to operate their plants on Saturdays and Sundays and close shop on Thursdays and Fridays to help ward off the threat of blackouts during the summer, when demand for electricity is expected to peak from July to September.
The decision follows a government request to major companies earlier this month to cut power consumption by 15 percent this summer to offset the loss of capacity triggered by the nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture, which led to the recent closure of another nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture. Japan depends on nuclear power for 30 percent of its electricity needs.
The devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11 crippled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the main facility for the Tokyo area.