Japan has more than 4,000 companies operating in Thailand, dubbed the “Detroit of Southeast Asia” due to the huge number of auto manufacturing plants.

“The government will offer appropriate support to Japanese companies if necessary so that the impact on them would be kept to a minimum,” top Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a regular press briefing.

He did not elaborate on what sort of help — financial or otherwise — Tokyo might give.

Concerns over the future of the country have been lingering with the ailing health of the world’s longest-reigning monarch, who has played a role of mediator at times of political turmoil during his seven-decade reign.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away Thursday at the age of 88 after years of ill health.

“Significant near-term disruption is likely,” John Marrett, research analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said in a commentary.

“(We are) expecting a slowdown in Thailand’s economy over the next 12 months.”

Thai stocks rebounded sharply on Friday after plunging this week as analysts warned over the possible fallout — political and economic — from the king’s death.

Japanese auto giants Toyota and Honda said it would be business as usual for their factories in Thailand.

But Japanese media have quoted unnamed insiders at firms operating in Thailand who said they worried they might have to shut plants because Thai employees could be reluctant to work as the nation mourns the king’s death.

Releasing new products during the one-year mourning period could be seen as being in bad taste, they added.

“Our factories in Thailand will keep operating as usual this week,” Toyota spokesman Itsuki Kurosu said of the auto giant’s three plants.

Rival Honda also said it would keep its four Thai plants running, including three auto factories and a motorcycle facility.

But “if the Thai royal family or the government issues instructions (to halt operations) then we’ll comply with them,” added Honda spokesman Tamon Kusakabe.

While much of Japan’s investment in Thailand — about $4.2 billion last year alone — is based in manufacturing, more and more service-sector firms have opened up in the country in recent years.

After the Royal Household Bureau announced His Majesty’s passing at 7pm last night, Thai people, both in the real and in the virtual world, were overwhelmed with sadness as their worst fears came true.

Many changed their colour profile photos to black-and-white on Facebook and other social networks, in a simple expression of profound feelings of loss.

“#May I be your humble servant forever more” became the most widely used hashtag on Twitter in Thailand, with many Thais expressing their love and respect for their late beloved monarch by promising to be strong and to follow the King’s teachings.

Every second brought forth more expressions of grief in the cybersphere as netizens joined those in mourning across the country last night.

It said that King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away at 3.52pm at Siriraj Hospital, where he had been treated since October 3, 2014.

“The team of physicians offered treatment to the best of their ability. But his illness did not ease and his condition worsened gradually. His Majesty the King passed away peacefully at 3.52pm on October 13 in the 89th year of his life,” the Royal Household Bureau said. The statement also noted that the King had been on the throne for 70 years.

Obama paid tribute to the King as a “tireless champion” for Thailand’s development, praising his “unflagging devotion” to improving the lives of his subjects.

“His Majesty the King was a close friend of the United States and a valued partner of many US presidents,” Obama said.

“I had the honour of calling on His Majesty the King during my visit to Thailand in 2012, and recall his grace and warmth, as well as his deep affection and compassion for the Thai people.

“With a creative spirit and a drive for innovation, he pioneered new technologies that have rightfully received worldwide acclaim,” Obama said.

“His Majesty leaves a legacy of care for the Thai people that will be cherished by future generations.”

SONGKHLA old town in the province of the same name has a low profile in the shadow of bustling Hat Yai, which has been the major economic centre of southern Thailand for a long time. Indeed, it is not surprising that some may think that Songkhla is actually a district of Hat Yai province.

The town, however, has its own charming traditional architectural style. The urban area consists of the three major roads Nakorn Nok, Nakorn Nai and Nang Ngam. Tourists can also visit the old rice mill known as Hub Ho Hin, the Sino-Portuguese townhouses and the historic Nang Ngam Hotel, which is embellished with elaborate wooden fretwork.

Recently a new generation of residents of Songkhla town have joined hands to reintroduce the area to outsiders in a campaign that has caught people’s eyes and gone viral on social networks including Facebook and Twitter. The campaign is mostly comprised of photos that have been posted on Facebook.

Prakarn Siripanich, president of the Songkhla Cultural Local Guides Club, said the campaign portrayed Thotsakan, or Ravana, a main character in the Ramayana epic, and one of his consorts visiting historic places in Songkhla and viewing wall murals and historic areas. They also showed viewers the local way of life of Songkhla town residents.

However, the characters may remind people of the controversial music video “Tiew Thai Me Hey”, which was produced to promote tourism in Thailand, also depicting the Khon character Thotsakan. The Culture Ministry red flagged the video because it showed Thotsakan on horseback, piloting a jet ski, steering a go-kart, riding in a tuk-tuk and even cooking the traditional local dessert kanom krok, which ministry staff deemed inappropriate for a cultural icon.

According to folklore, the 10-faced, 20-armed Thotsakan is king of the demons of Lanka and the strongest of Phra Ram’s adversaries, equipped with a myriad of weapons.

The original video received support from across society including a petition set up at Change.org that opposed the red flag and garnered more than 64,000 names.

Ultimately, the video’s producer agreed to edit the video and cut the controversial scenes.

Songkhla native Prakarn admitted that he got the idea of using the two Khon characters from that controversial video. “The singer in the video, Tachaya Pathumwan, was my younger fellow student at Mahavajiravudh Songkhla.”

However, when asked to comment on the video, Prakarn diplomatically said both sides had interesting points.

Well aware of the cultural sensitivity of using Khon characters in the campaign, he said he had been very careful and would focus on demonstrating beautiful and interesting sites in Songkhla’s old town areas. “There would be only still photos and I have no plans to make a video like Tachaya’s.”

The theme of the project is that Thotsakan and his consort visited Songkhla’s old town and wandered around the beautiful sites happily together.

Everyone who participated in the campaign worked on a voluntary basis. “Jirapong Wongwiwat, a photographer for the campaign, is a freelancer and always does charity work by organising photo training for children. He has received many awards but did the job for free,” Prakarn said.

Jirapong was always more than ready to brave the hot weather and walk long distances each day to take photos, Prakarn said, adding that the photographer paid for his meals and water out of his own pocket. Thotsakan and the consort were depicted by senior students of Songkhla Rajabhat University and were happy to do the job for free, he added.

“Anyone could imagine how hard it was to walk in the strong sunlight with those costumes, the mask and the headdress. For the Thotsakan character, the student faced difficulty because he had to wear the mask all the time, but for the consort, she had to wear the heavy costume and the headdress and also she could not wear shoes. I felt pity for her as she has to walk in the strong sunlight on the hot streets.”

The university provided the costumes for free and lecturers on traditional dances provided advice to make sure everything was implemented correctly and respectfully regarding Thai culture.

The Thotsakan-led campaign was only the first phase. Now Prakarn’s team is launching the second part, which features two additional characters from the Ramayana – Hanuman, the monkey warrior, and Benyakai, a female character. The premise is that the new characters heard about Thotsakan’s visit to Songkhla and followed out of curiosity and enjoyed themselves.

“The campaign’s objective is to draw tourists, both local and foreigners, to Songkhla, which has a series of sites and history to offer. But we would not be happy with a simple head count of tourists, we prefer to see quality tourism, and do not focus on their quantity,” Prakarn said.