A powerful typhoon approached Japan's main islands on Wednesday, closing car factories and disrupting some refinery shipments.

Following are details of factory disruption reported so far from Typhoon Melor, which is forecast to make landfall southwest of Tokyo on Thursday.

* Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said it would halt operations at its 12 parent company car plants in central Japan for a day on Thursday.

* Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T) said it would halt operations for a day at six car and bike plants in central Japan on Thursday.

* Nippon Oil Corp (5001.T) has halted marine oil product shipments at its Mizushima and Osaka refineries in western Japan on Wednesday afternoon.

* Idemitsu Kosan Co (5019.T) has halted marine oil shipments at its Tokuyama and Aichi refineries on Wednesday afternoon. The overland oil shipments have been also put on hold at the Tokuyama refinery.

* Japan Energy Corp, the nation's sixth-biggest oil refiner, said it would halt overland oil shipments from its Mizushima refinery in western Japan during the night hours.

* Nansei Sekiyu KK's Nishihara refinery in Okinawa has halted marine oil shipments since Sunday. The marine shipments are expected to resume from Thursday afternoon.

Japan