Something else was announced today at the Toyota results conference, and lost on most in the packed room. A remark by CFO Satoshi Ozawa that the long discussed rotating power rationing plan is now a done deal.

According to the comment, “an agreement was reached within JAMA on rotating production. All the member companies of JAMA will work together to overcome this critical situation.” What apparently spooked JAMA, the Japan Auto Manufacturers Association, into action was the fact that Chubu Electric’s Hamaoka n uclear plant is to be shut down, In addition to 32 of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors that are already down.

As noted earlier, that plant is in Japan’s auto production heartland, where Toyota. Mitsubishi and Suzuki have facilities. “In the Chubu area, we will rotate days off amongst companies,” Ozawa said.

The Nikkei [sub] wrote later that “the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association has decided to shut down production at auto plants on Thursdays and Fridays between July and September as a summer power-saving measure. Automakers will instead operate their plants on Saturdays and Sundays.”