Photo/Illutration The headquarters of Mazda Motors Corp. in Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced they have halted production at their factories in Russia, a development that means all Japanese auto giants with plants in Russia have now suspended operations there due to the war raging in Ukraine.

Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Corp. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. have already suspended their operations in Russia.

Mazda said May 10 it shut down its plant in Vladivostok in late April.

After Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Mazda stopped exporting vehicle parts from Japan. The company planned to halt production there as soon as its inventory of parts ran out. The assembly plant in Vladivostok is a fifty-fifty joint venture between Mazda and a local company.

Mitsubishi also announced May 11 that it suspended operations at its plant in the Kaluga administrative region in early April.

It is uncertain how long the shutdown will continue,” said a company representative.

(This article was written by Shiro Matsuda and Naoyuki Fukuda)