business

Inside Takata, tantrums, but little sense of crisis over air bags

8 Comments
By Norihiko Shirouzu

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8 Comments
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He acts like this recall is going to blow by in due time and harbors little sense of crisis,” said one of the associates, none of whom wanted to be named given the sensitive nature of their comments.

Maybe he thinks the Japanese government is going to cover his butt. I sincerely hope the US regulators nail his butt to the wall and wipe the smug attitude off of him.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Actually we refer to these second-third generations businessmen as well as politicians as "bon-bon". Unfortunately in this time and age these bon bons are everywhere. Their backup supporters, mainly supplied by their fathers and mothers to babysit them, are by their sides to make sure they don't slip up. These bon bons have no real experience as many sit down into executive chairs right after they graduate from a university. Many are treated as future emperors of the company so they normally do not have a real grasp of company matters as this man at Takata has shown.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

His son, he added, is very different - “painfully shy, bookish and into computers ... very good with statistics.”

His mother Akiko, a former Takata executive, now heads the non-profit Takata Foundation, but remains vocal as a special adviser to the company. Some managers call her “O-okusan”, or “big wife”, underscoring her influence, while Shigehisa is referred to as “the son”, or “Shige-chan” - a familiar, short form of his name with a suffix normally reserved for children.

In one recent incident, Shigehisa went “missing for a few hours” from Takata’s Tokyo headquarters after a row with his mother, said one person familiar with the matter.

This all sounds like a script for a potential TV drama, rather than a real company. Pity the workers who have their futures tied up with this company, and their shareholders.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Sounds like your pretty typical kid who's inherited his father's hard work, which is far too common here. Thinks he can get away with anything, throw pouty fits and run away, and will "explain things later" in the hopes that the problem will go away. I hope the US absolutely nails him and the others on this. It's unbelievable that five had died -- and remember, these are only the deaths that have come to light after rumours that test results have been destroyed and companies like Honda have admitted they failed to report injuries, etc. -- and they are acting so casual. Those responsible should be jailed. Period.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Are the recalls limited to the U.S. only ? I am driving a nissan and don't know whether My car is affected or not as the manufacturer has not contacted me yet. The lack of crisis here in Japan from the J-press and J-gov't as regards the Takata airbags is really mind boggling. Since Takata is a J-company, it is safe to assume the defective bags are in millions of J-cars.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Maybe Takata should take the big step and switch away from ammonium nitrate, the explosive chemical which is used by Takata, and not used by any other airbag maker. Apparently ammonium nitrate allows for a more compact design, so if a car was designed around a smaller airbag supplied by Takata, that could pose a big problem. Might require changing the airbag, the steering wheel, and maybe even the steering column!

I can't imagine that any new car designs would include ammonium nitrate airbags in the near future.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Epic fail died in Prius due to brake failure and exploding airbag........

0 ( +0 / -0 )

He told them that Takata had significantly improved its air bag propellant chemistry for bags it is using to replace defective ones, and the company now just has to step up and replace all suspect air bags as quickly as possible.

The new chemical makeup of his propellant is a non-issue as long as it can be demonstrated that it works safely. The world does not need to know company confidential data like that. What I find interesting is his "the company now just has to step up" comment after his lackey at the U.S. Congressional hearing refused to say whether Takata supported replacing all the suspect airbags.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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