What makes this news-worthy is the fact that the Ohira plant is situated in the Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan, one of the most underdeveloped regions from the industrialization point of view. However, the factory which currently employs 900 people and production capacity of 120,000 vehicles a year, is part of Toyota's efforts to keep its global offering as "Made in Japan" as possible.
It is hoped that at least 3 million cars will be built in the Asian country this year, representing around 40 percent of the vehicles produced around the world. Toyota has been mulling over the idea of moving production to countries with lower wages like Thailand, China and India in order to make its products more competitive and to fight the ever-strengthening yen, which is making Japanese exports more expensive.
"This is bringing hope and energy to the future of Tohoku," Yoshihiro Murai, governor of the prefecture told the crowd gathered at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to Yahoo News.
The fist car to roll of the line, marking the event was a red Yaris compact sedan destined for export to North America.
"This is like a dream come true," said Masahiro Atobe, mayor of Ohira, the plant's home town of 5,500 inhabitants, who also admitted that he thought the plant would not go into production after car demand slumped during the financial crisis.
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