Japan’s auto industry is going back to tried-and-tested plays to ease the pain of a strong yen as Toyota Motor Corp.’s prediction for a 37 percent plunge in earnings threatens to end the era of record profits.A resurgent yen wiped almost half a trillion yen ($5 billion) off the operating income of Japan’s seven automakers in the first quarter, with Toyota alone taking a 235 billion yen hit. The industry, which accounts for about one in 10 jobs in Japan, is responding by cutting costs, dialing back expenses and turning to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for help.
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