Toyota Motor Corp.'s small-car unit, Daihatsu Motor Co., said Thursday it will resume operations at all its assembly factories in Japan on May 7, some four months after it suspended its entire domestic production in late December due to safety test rigging.

The automaker will resume production of the Copen minivehicle at its factory in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, which is the last of its four assembly factories in Japan to remain halted.

Its factories in Kyoto, Shiga and Oita prefectures have already restarted operations, and the Oita plant is expected to ramp up production on May 6.

The resumption came after Japan's transport ministry lifted its shipment ban on many of Daihatsu's models in March and confirmed in its re-examination that the vehicles met safety standards.

In December, Daihatsu admitted to safety test rigging for most of its models, which a third-party investigation found dated back to 1989. The panel blamed "an extremely tight and rigid development schedule" for the misconduct.

On Monday, Daihatsu said Toyota will be in charge of development and safety approval for some of the models Daihatsu has been handling, while it will focus on its mainstay minivehicle business.

==Kyodo

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