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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014.Inside Takata, tantrums, but little sense of crisis over air bags
By Norihiko Shirouzu TOKYO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Yubaru
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.
mitokomonalex
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.
jerseyboy
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.
smithinjapan
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.
drlucifer
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.
CraigHicks
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.
nath
Epic fail died in Prius due to brake failure and exploding airbag........
Fadamor
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.