TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. said today it will resume car production at all its plants in Japan at half capacity from April 18 to 27 after the March earthquake and tsunami forced it to halt manufacturing due to shortages of parts and power.

Toyota, the world's No. 1 automaker, said production at its 18 plants will then halt from April 28 to May 9, a period that includes Golden Week holidays when factories would normally close.

Toyota said the parts shortage has been gradually improving but it is still struggling to get around 150 types of parts. Toyota previously said there were shortages of about 500 types of components. The automaker has suffered a production loss of 260,000 cars from March 14 through to Friday.

NEW YORK — Shoppers shrugged off higher gas prices and cool temperatures to give retailers a surprisingly strong MarchThe retail revenue figures released Thursday extend the streak of solid spending from late last year and indicate that recent job growth is tempering worries about higher pump prices.A broad range of stores from Costco Wholesale Corp. to Victoria's Secret parent company Limited Brands Inc. reported revenue gains that handily beat Wall Street expectations. Target Corp. reported a smaller decline than Wall Street expected.“Neither the lack of the Easter Bunny, nor cool temperatures or spiking gas prices could keep consumers at bay,” said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics LLC, a research firm. “There is still a significant amount of pent-up demand. I think the job recovery is catching on.”

HARRISBURG — The tens of thousands of lawyers who practice in Pennsylvania can now file their registrations and pay their fees online.Officials at the disciplinary board of the state Supreme Court said Thursday that registration packets will be mailed out as usual in May to the more than 80,000 attorneys currently registered as members of the state bar.Those who register online this year can opt for e-mail notices in lieu of the paper packets next year.Attorney registrar Suzanne Price says the 62,000 active attorneys are required to pay an annual fee of $200 while inactive attorneys pay $70.