Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it had temporarily suspended production at a factory in Saitama Prefecture after being targeted in a cyberattack employing the same type of ransomware virus that struck firms around the globe last month.
Output at the factory in the city of Sayama had been halted Monday but was restored the following day, the company said.
The Sayama factory produces about 1,000 vehicles a day, it added.
The automaker discovered last Sunday that the production control system at the plant was infected by the malware that encrypts computer files and makes them inaccessible until users pay a ransom.
Honda has also confirmed malware infection at factories abroad, but said that those did not affect overseas production.
At least 150 countries were hit in a massive cyberattack last month, including Nissan Motor Co.'s plant in Sunderland, England. Production there was also halted.
In Japan, Hitachi Ltd.'s computer systems were disrupted by the cyberattack and one computer at East Japan Railway Co.'s local bureau was infected with the virus. Train operations were unaffected.