Kanto Auto Works plant. Later, the company replaced Yokosuka for car assemby with the Higashi-Fuji (established in 1968) and Iwate (established in 1993) plants. Kanto Auto Works was a public company until 2011 when, following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, Toyota announced it would make it a wholly owned subsidiary. On July 1, 2012, Kanto Auto Works and two other Toyota subsidiaries (Central Motors and Toyota Motors Tohoku) were combined into a single company called Toyota Motor East Japan, Inc. Kanto Auto Works In April 1946, Kanto Auto Works was established in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan, as an independent company called "Kanto Electric Motor Works"
1923 Great Kantō earthquake Tokyo as refuge spots, and public buildings were constructed with stricter standards than private buildings to accommodate refugees. The outbreak of World War II and subsequent destruction severely limited resources. Frank Lloyd Wright received credit for designing the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, to withstand the quake, although in fact the building was damaged by the shock. The destruction of the US embassy caused Ambassador Cyrus Woods to relocate the embassy to the hotel. Wright's structure withstood the anticipated earthquake stresses, and the hotel remained in use until 1968. The unfinished battlecruiser "Amagi" was in drydock being converted into an aircraft carrier