Takata agrees to guilty plea in U.S.; will pay $1 bil for hiding defect

So they were deceptive in their practices and they will essentially get what amounts to a slap on the wrist,even though people died as a result of their negligence! Sounds like justice ... :-/

It will be very interesting to see if the executives get extradited to the US to face trial.

It's about time we started holding corporate executives personally responsible for their corporate wrongdoings, especially when those wrongdoings have resulted in serious injury and death. Where were these prosecutors for Countrywide and Wells Fargo?

Expect this to be one of the last attempts by the US to wrist slap corporate offenders. The US administration-to-be is making plans to scrap regulations that limit corporations. For at least the next four years the US will see consumer and environmental protections regs stripped away, making it easier for scammers to rip off the public and polluters to foul the environment.

Trump's a global elite businessman who's surrounded himself with people having like histories and beliefs. I wonder if he's looked at Putin's Russia and its system of rewarding loyal oligarchs and at China and its system of rewarding members of the CCP and wants versions of their models for the US.

The Rollerball (James Caan version) world of 21st century corporatocracy is nigh. It's corporations uber alles. What's sad is Trump cultists are the ones who'll get hurt most by this brave new world. But I don't feel the least bit sorry for them. They should have known leopards don't change spots and that he was a snake before they took him in. (Al Wilson song)

“Extradition is not automatic. It is discretionary with Japan,”

Still better than never with the US.

" they had no choice but to manipulate the data "...

ANd they should lhave no choice but to be shut down and go to prison.

Not enough. People died because of these faulty airbags. someone needs to go to Jail and Takata needs to pay alot more.

It doesn't make the consumer happy. It has been months since the recall letter was received for a 2010 Subaru in the USA. When the dealer was contacted, the agent said that only 8 replacement bags were received because most of shipments go to southern states. If Takata used the fine to pay for 24 hour a day, 7 day a week production, perhaps consumer would be happy. The fine just goes into the black hole - USA Treasury.

Well, that is the end of that. So after all these years of fury and bluster, the US accepts a deal where 85% of the settlement goes to recalls, 12% goes to compensate people who were allegedly injured, and 2% goes to fines. Seems pretty harsh to me, but wait, there is more....

Time and again on this site, and I have screenshots, a certain person has called these Japanese executives on a Japanese site "criminals." They were not even indicted until today, so that person and this site might be jointly and severally liable for libeling those Japanese citizens and prejudicing their prosecution. They are still not "guilty," for heaven's sake. Only accused of alleged this and that. I don't know why JapanToday moderators let libel go on and on against executives of Takata, Tepco, etc., but someone should look into it. One of those people might be owning JapanToday if it does not stop.

That person posting here and others need perspective. Nobody is going to go out and remove their own airbag because they think it is dangerous. They are lifesaving devices that we rely on every day. This Takata prosecution now completely fits the pattern used against so many other companies, FOREIGN companies, by the US recently. Particularly, Japanese companies comply even though no technical fault is ever identified. The NHTSA shook down Toyota, Audi, and now Takata. No defect is ever proven, but the shakedown proceeds anyway.

One last point, although I have been following this Takata thing for years and have made plenty of observations. Has anyone bothered to notice that all these longstanding conflicts are finally being resolved NOW? Why NOW? Oh yes. The NHTSA has realized that it had better settle for the best deal it can get before Trump brings some common sense to bear. And this is the deal. Fines of what... 25 million? For three years of bluster? For all that purported death and destruction? I realize that the NHTSA has to save face, but they know they did not have anything, and they never will. Nobody will go to jail. Takata takes the hit and life goes on. The lawyers get rich.

Watch out. The lawyers might be coming for you next.

Takata falsified test data to deceive automakers that used its inflators in their vehicles.

This is an all too common scenario in Japanese business. It's happened in the nuclear power industry, construction industry and even foods with the mislabeling scams. It seems that the Japanese 'bushido' has become Japanese 'bullshido'!

As is often the case - those with power and money, are fined, which to them is no big deal and probably just be paid off with company funds. The rest of the 99% get jail sentences, often for much less serious crimes.

Middle management jobs. They decide that it's cheaper to pay fines. And, they don't stick out that much this way. Remember when Tucker introduced his automobile, it had advanced safety features. The big boys had already decided that it was cheaper to pay fines than to put in good safe materials. Air bags came out decades ago. Many decades. But it was cheaper to pay off insurance claims.

A $1 billion thats not a slap on the wrist, thats quite a substantial fine. I hope that other companies take note, and stop cutting corners and get the product right before it goes on the market.

In point of fact, they'll be paying 1 billion for getting caught...

For such a tragic mistake I would force them to either disband or re-hire the whole responsible department, from the manufacturers to the supervising stuff.

One of the things that bugs me about the article, ... did anyone catch it?

I looked around at other news sites, and it is the same thing. The prosecutors are the only ones quoted, all the allegations are presented as fact, and everyone just continues to pile on. Quite literally, Takata management is lucky to get a word in edgewise. How can anyone really think they know anything about what is going on with Takata if they have not been paying close attention? Defense attorneys tell their clients to shut up. Prosecutors get to blab all they want, and even lie if they want to. People understand that, right?

This 1 billion dollars is not even a fine. The fine is 25 million dollars. JUST TO GET TO THAT FINE, the Justice Department had to make Takata agree to allocating 850 million to recalls, which it basically already has, and allocate 125 million to settle pending cases, which it would probably do anyway. Not a slap on the wrist, but a 25 million dollar fine is not going to break the bank, is it? Takata settled, because why not? The executives who might have done something wrong are already gone.

And the article includes the often repeated hyperbole that inflators caused these accidents. That has not been proven ONCE. The injuries? The cases are pending. Is it 10 deaths, or 16, or 14, I keep seeing these numbers that people keep repeating, but nobody seems to even know how many it is. And they leave out that the claims were made years ago. And let's face it. Nobody really cares, right? IF they did, they would get it right. As far as the "over one hundred cases of injury," well, that could be anything, right? And now that 125 million is on the line, I am sure there will be more claims by people wanting some sweet sweet cash. Why not? Toyota was dragged through the same circus, with someone making a claim every week.

I think the whole thing stinks. It is a kangaroo court. I don't think a single journalist has sat down and done a timeline, or has separated allegations from fact. They just let the prosecutor write the article and then mail it in. Why not? Everybody wins except those "evil corporate people," who in this case make child seats for a living. They MUST be ogres to work in that industry, right?

Watch for this kind of stuff to happen more often. Someone will make a claim. There will be an internet sensation, with several legal firms fanning the flames, and then the US government will get involved. After the company gets raked over the coals and the lawyers get their money, everyone goes home and buys another yacht.

5speed - certainly could be ulterior motives abounding by any number of fingers in the pie, but the fact that the indictment states -

" “Defendants commonly referred to the removal or alteration of unfavorable test data that was to be provided to Takata customers as ‘XX-ing’ the data,” the indictment says. In June 2005, Nakajima said in an email that “they had no choice but to manipulate test data, and that they needed to ‘cross the bridge together.’”

seems to indicate an admission of intent to mislead or cover-up, which resulted in deaths.

Hard to escape from that basket.

Also do you have any authorative links to the deaths being caused by the inflators as "hyperbole" as you put it? Not the numbers - as people are always arguing numbers - just that the deaths were not caused by airbags exploding sending shrapnel into drivers.

I haven't read that, but could have easily missed it.

Toyota, Nissan, Honda and more automakers that installed Takata airbags have recalled their auto. Big money spent by recalling cars that had installed Takata airbag. But automakers are taking responsibility for installing takayabag. Takata bag inflated, like accident, inflate. And inside, small metals jump out and injures, I remember reading some cases and I was laughed at when I said I will carry my pillow. That was many years ago. So, anyone can find victims cases instead of asking here.

Cost of doing business, eh? And no one goes to jail? Really? Remind me again, how many deaths were there?

Why haven't similar charges been brought against them in Japan?

Disillusioned: "Why haven't similar charges been brought against them in Japan?"

TIJ.

How about doing away with airbags altogether? Seems they’re much more trouble (fatal, at that) then they’re worth.

(Before anyone chimes in with “statistics” and “lives saved,” don’t. Just. Don’t. Members of my family were in the automotive-body-repair business for some 30 years. They and I saw more instances of airbag FAILURE than success, with the expected injuries. The damnfool thing is a flawed idea that should be eliminated. PERIOD. Seatbelts are proven to be much safer.)

How about doing away with airbags altogether? Seems they’re much more trouble (fatal, at that) then they’re worth.

It may seem that way, but do the numbers actually support that theory? I just did a bit of googling and found this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2006-01-02/airbag-statistics]

Deaths in frontal crashes are reduced about 14 percent among right front passengers using their belts and about 23 percent among passengers without belts.

So it seems that airbags have their place both with and without seatbelts, saving move lives in both situations.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the combination of an airbag plus a lap/shoulder belt reduces the risk of serious head injury among drivers by 85 percent compared with a 60 percent reduction for belts alone.

It seems that they also reduce serious head injuries a lot more than belts alone as well.

Since 1990, 262 deaths reportedly have been caused by airbags inflating in low severity crashes, most of them in older model vehicles. These deaths include 87 drivers, 13 adult passengers, 138 children, and 24 infants.

While those 262 deaths are extremely unfortunate, it's a pretty low number when you consider how many crashes there must have been that involved airbags overall.

So it seems to me that airbags save more lives, and prevent more injuries than just seatbelts alone.

This is like Tokyo Tribunal. Takata has no choice but to accept the charges because US government is stronger and unpredictable.

tinawatanabe: "This is like Tokyo Tribunal."

If you mean in that Japan has committed heinous crimes here, yes. Otherwise, it's not like it at all.

"Takata has no choice but to accept the charges because US government is stronger and unpredictable."

No, they have no choice to accept it because they were caught committing crimes, and then caught lying about it, and admitted it. Stop blaming others for Takata's mistakes, tina. But here, from Takata's own words:

"In June 2005, Nakajima said in an email that “they had no choice but to manipulate test data, and that they needed to ‘cross the bridge together.’”

Proof of crime and cover-up, tina.