Japan? Toyota? One must wonder....Anyone Think?

However unwittingly, Toyota has revealed Japan's bigoted and insular culture, as well as Japan's questionable judicial system.

Although the FACTS are unclear, it does appear that a compliant Japanese media genuflected to the police retaliation to convict in the press. 

One must wonder if Julie Hamp was set up by an insular society offended by a woman in a top position or was it an American woman in a top position? 

It is doubly distressing that the US Corporate Media has ignored the issue.

Prison Ordeal Offers Lesson on Declaring Meds in Japan

by Stephen Stapczynski
July 6, 2015

Three weeks ago, Julie Hamp was Toyota Motor Corp.’s highest-ranking female executive. Her days now likely consist of 6:30 a.m. wake-up calls followed by hours of questioning by Japanese police.

Hamp, 55, who resigned as Toyota’s communications officer last week from a Japanese jail, has been detained since her June 18 arrest for allegedly importing prescription painkillers that require prior approval before being brought into Japan. Prosecutors will decide on July 8 whether Hamp, who hasn’t been formally charged, is to be indicted.

Her experience, and that of others like 26-year-old Carrie Russell, an English teacher held for 18 days in February for possessing prescription drugs sent from the U.S., offers a warning to visitors: Japan has tough laws for possession of prescription drugs, even when those medications may have been recommended by doctors abroad.

“When you get medicine from your physician, you assume it’s OK to bring it with you,” said Russell, who’s been taking medication for attention deficit disorder since she was 10. “I was completely wrong,” she said in a phone interview from Oregon.

Tokyo metropolitan police arrested Hamp of Toyota Motor on suspicion that she had imported the pain medication oxycodone. Hamp had her father send 57 tablets containing oxycodone to a Tokyo hotel where she was staying, according to Kyodo News, citing a Tokyo police representative.

A spokeswoman at the Tokyo Prosecutor’s Office, who asked not to be named citing department policy, declined to comment on Hamp and Russell’s cases. Hamp’s attorney and family members in the U.S. couldn’t be reached to comment.

23-Day Detentions

Oxycodone is a pain reliever used to treat moderate to severe pain and can be obtained in the U.S. with a prescription.

Under Japan’s criminal laws, police can detain suspects for 23 days without charge. During that period, police will interrogate those suspected of drug-related offenses for as long as six hours a day, according to Hirotaka Honda, a Tokyo-based attorney at the Honda Law Office who represents foreigners involved in criminal and domestic disputes involving the police.

“Detainees can be interrogated whenever the police think it is necessary,” said Honda. “And while getting investigated, they cannot be with their lawyer.”

Russell’s ordeal started Feb. 20 when she said she was approached by five plainclothes police officers with her photo in hand while she dined with a friend at a Tokyo pub. One of the officers asked if she had any amphetamines. Russell, who initially had no idea what they were talking about, said no. Even so, she was handcuffed and placed into the back seat of an unmarked van for a five-hour drive west to Nagoya, her home since arriving in Japan.

Drug Cases

Japan, a nation of 127 million, charged 13,121 individuals with drug-related crimes last year, the most in a decade, according to the National Police Agency. About 6 percent, or 778 individuals, were foreigners, the agency said. More than 80 percent of the crimes involved methamphetamines.

The same year, cases of drug smuggling rose 11 percent to 245, according to police data.

“The Japanese police agency is getting more and more strict with drug cases recently,” said Hiroaki Okamoto, an attorney at Nakamura International Criminal Defense LPC in Tokyo.

Every day during her detention, Russell woke at 6:30 a.m., ate breakfast, and performed morning chores. She would then be escorted into a room from 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. to be questioned until 5 p.m., she said.

‘Get Me to Break’

“It was literally them asking me the same thing over and over again,” said Russell, who said she was the only foreigner in the detention center. The police were “trying to get me to break and say something that didn’t happen or was suspicious. But there was nothing for me to break on.”

After her interrogations, Russell had free time to read a book until lights out. The questioning would start again the next day, she said.

A spokesman with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment on the Russell case.

Before moving to Tokyo, Russell taught English in South Korea. Her mother, a physician, had sent her packages, including adderall, a pharmaceutical amphetamine used to treat ADD, which was never opened.

Russell mailed her belongings, including the drugs, from Seoul to Nagoya when she got a new job in Japan, unaware of the rule that users need advance permission before bringing certain drugs into the country.

The English teacher was released after 18 days of detention only when U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy made a personal appeal. She decided to return to the U.S. after her release.

Smuggling Charges

On its website, the U.S. embassy warns citizens to check before mailing or carrying medication to Japan, or face arrest and detention.

A spokesman at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, who asked not to be named, declined to comment specifically on the case involving Hamp, the former Toyota Motor executive.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda told reporters on June 19 that he’s confident Hamp didn’t intentionally break the law, describing her as “a very important and trustworthy friend and colleague.”

If prosecutors decide to indict Hamp on July 8, her stint in the detention center could be longer, according to Okamoto.

“She’s a foreigner and she doesn’t have her family living in Japan. Also, she doesn’t seem to have admitted to illegally importing the drugs with intention,” said Okamoto. “With all those conditions, it will be very difficult to have her released.”

Okamoto said that if found guilty, Hamp could face 2 1/2 years imprisonment with a two-year suspension. Even with a suspended sentence, foreigners found guilty in drug cases will be deported, he said.

“Bail is the exception rather than the rule in Japan and is virtually unheard of for foreigners,” according to the website of the U.S. Embassy. “If you are arrested in Japan you will in all likelihood remain in jail until you are indicted or released.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-06/prison-ordeal-offers-lesson-on-declaring-meds-in-japan

Julie Hamp: Power List 2015

July 01, 2015 by Tony Cervone, General Motors 

Former managing officer and CCO, Toyota Motor Corp

The Power List 2015 was compiled before Julie Hamp resigned as Toyota's global communications leader on Wednesday morning after being arrested last month for allegedly violating Japanese drug laws.

2015 rank: 10
2014 rank: 25

By Tony Cervone, SVP, global communications, General Motors

Over the course of her career, Julie Hamp has raised the bar for her profession over and over again.

She continues to set new heights and break down barriers, now as managing officer and CCO for Toyota Motor Corp. Yes, that’s right, Toyota globally. At its main headquarters in Japan.

She is not only the first female in that job, and the first American, but she is also the first person in that seat with a truly global background. While I don’t want to diminish the first two – they are real and to be rightly proud of – it’s the latter that will drive her continued success.

Anyone who knows Julie understands she measures herself on the ability to succeed into the future, not celebrating milestones. Her career has taken her across the globe, and to different industries, but predominantly automotive.

She leads people, driving for new levels of performance, but letting them do their jobs and continue to learn. Julie finds talented people, then nurtures them, and grows with them. She understands the role of solid counsel, but in a way that isn’t offensive or threatening to senior leaders.

Julie understands the need for consistency, but allows it to be expressed naturally and authentically, with special sensitivity to cultural nuances. She understands discipline, but doesn’t drive bureaucracy. In short, Julie provides a great balance. And she fully deserves to be "the first" in so many ways.

http://www.prweek.com/article/1353836/julie-hamp-power-list-2015#disqus_thread

Painfully timed PR award for Toyota exec busted for oxycodone

By Stephanie Smith

July 2, 2015

Julie HampPhoto: AP

Media insiders snickered at the timing of Julie Hamp — the former Toyota Motor chief communications officer arrested in Japan for allegedly importing prescription painkillers — being named this week to PRWeek’s Power List of top 50 executives.

Hamp, ranked No. 10, stepped down from her position on Wednesday, the day the list was published, after she was busted June 18 for suspicion of violating Japan’s strict drug laws. Officials found 57 oxycodone pills in a package Hamp shipped to herself from the US.

The powerful painkiller can only be imported with special permission.

Hamp, Toyota’s highest female executive, is being held in jail, but has yet to be charged. She could face up to 10 years in prison.

The magazine’s glowing piece on Hamp read, “She continues to set new heights and break down barriers . . . at [Toyota’s] main headquarters in Japan.”

Now it’s added a note online explaining that her arrest came after the print deadline.

Editor-in-Chief Steve Barrett told us: “She’s achieved a top level of seniority in an industry that’s dominated by males . . . One error of judgment doesn’t destroy 35 years of expertise.”

Dan Bartlett, Walmart EVP for corporate affairs, came in at No. 1 on the PR Power List.

http://pagesix.com/2015/07/02/painfully-timed-pr-award-for-toyota-exec-busted-for-oxycodone/

.....one can cite FACTS and FIGURES till you’re blue in the face and yet no one will listen to the information or pay attention the story you’re attempting to tell.  But have a GOOD SCANDAL involved, and suddenly EVERYONE PAYS ATTENTION.  Is this one of these cases?


************
**************

Could Hamp’s detention reinforce prejudice?

BY JAKE ADELSTEIN

JUL 4, 2015

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/07/04/national/media-national/hamps-detention-reinforce-prejudice/#.VZfKW_lViko

-------------------------------------------------------------

(selected comment):

Steve Jackman 

Foreigners who have worked at large Japanese corporations here in Japan know that their corporate culture is dominated by constant factional warfare. Anyone who has watched Japanese period dramas on NHK will also know what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, foreign executives often become unwitting pawns in this, since they don't know how to navigate the minefield that is corporate Japan. The problem for foreign workers is especially compounded by the fierce and institutionalized racism, bigotry, prejudice and xenophobia they encounter within Japanese companies, something which Japanese workers don't have to deal with.

Having worked in management at Japanese companies here in Japan, I have witnessed many foreign executives struggle and be pushed to despair by Japanese companies. They could never have been prepared for the feudal, insular, close minded and backward attitudes they encountered at these companies. Their past successes and professional accomplishments meant nothing in the face of relentless racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, power harassment, bullying, sexual harassment and physical violence (yes, even physical assaults are commonplace at Japanese companies), which are a huge part of the corporate culture at Japanese companies.

Japanese companies are hostile places for expat workers. Many Japanese hate and deeply resent having to work with foreigners and they are constantly hatching plans to saboutage and isolate them, and try to make them fail. They are frequently undercut and blindsided, for no reason other than that they are foreigners and many Japanese feel that Japanese companies should be the exclusive domain of Japanese workers. To them, foreign workers are just intruding on their sacred turf and destroying the (myth of) Wa, or Japanese harmony. I don't think foreign workers can ever be prepared for the mistreatment and abuse that are hurled at them at Japanese companies.

So, I think Julie Hamp was a victim in all of this. She had a very successful career at GM and PepsiCo before joining Toyota. People who know her say she never did drugs, even back in her college days in the U.S. The fact that she now felt the need to take such strong medication says more to me about the difficulties foreign workers face in coping with a very hostile and alien Japanese corporate culture, than it does about any personal failings she may have.
Remember, this is the same country which drove Crown Princess Masako to such deep depression that she rarely engages in any public events. This is a woman who graduated from Harvard and was a successful career woman before getting married. We should not blame Julie Hamp, the same way we should not blame Crown Princess Masako. They are both victims of a Japan which is extremely rigid, can be very harsh and cuel towards outsiders and refuses to adapt to the changing times.

It would therefore be a mistake to focus too much on the illegal importation of medication by Julie Hamp. A much more important aspect of this story is how working for Japanese corporations pushes many otherwise very successful foreign executives to the edge and sometimes over the cliff.

トヨタ役員逮捕「オキシコドン」報道に対する米国での反応

投稿日: 2015年07月03日 15時27分 JST 更新: 2015年07月03日 15時27分 JST

http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/foresight/toyota_b_7718730.html

----------------------------------------------

(Google Translate)

The reaction in the United States

against Toyota officers arrested

"oxycodone" report

Posted: July 3, 2015 15:27 JST

Update: July 3, 2015 15:27 JST

http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/foresight/toyota_b_7718730.html

---------------------------------------------

(Comments):

Taro Yamada

Hmmm, what would you do? For me as an argument?

1. oxycodone is classified as medical drugs called opioid analgesics, relieve pain.

↓

2. oxycodone average consumption in Japan (mg) is very small when compared to other developed countries

↓

3. Morphine also, very little consumption and also compared to other industrialized countries in Japan of the opioid analgesics. However, this does not mean more is by far also the United States of consumption.

↓

4. In any case, Japan is the use of medical drugs as compared to the developed countries of Europe and the US, is the extremely small. This Conversely, Japan is said to be very late, even as legally and health care system in terms of pain management. ... See more

I say! · Reply · 6 hours ago

Ichikawa Hiromi · DaVita Kidney Care registered nurses

I one of the impression of the United States health care with the things of "analgesic generous" will be listed.

Of course narcotic analgesic in the United States has a different treatment with other drugs. But,

I drink drug if after simple Ope of day 800㎎ / 1 dose Eve (in commercially available drug 150㎎ / single dose) and 100 tablets of prescription, but still does not work in the United States. Once, it the number 20-30 is very common in doctor prescribe.

I was also caused a mild culture shock is prescription drugs even after treatment of a tooth.

Personally a little too much! I hope that it will be.

But the United States is the configuration of the population also be multinational,

Because the pain to the idea of ​​different allowable range in individual culture and background, it is not the judgment that "it is possible to put up with if this extent." At the discretion of the health care workers.

That is, medical personnel patient "this degree of pain is white patience."

Remarks are there atmosphere that can not be. ... See more

I say! · Reply, 1, 8 hours ago

Moriya knowledge-work destination: freedom industry

By the way, there is a Toyota Memorial Hospital in the neighborhood of the Toyota headquarters. This is where a little can visit and come out the work. Or people of this person Tokyo headquarters?

I say! - Reply 8 hours ago

Ishizuka Shoichi

According to the health care system of Japan, I supposed there was no problem if Could wrote a prescription and seek medical attention. I think that Mr. hump has tried to get the easy neglected its efforts with a problem. Blogger said, I have to say that of Atehamero the TPP negotiations parallel the standards of the US health care system in Japan, do you want to Japan to drug pollution superpower of the United States the same level? It will not a thing may be as it is mimicking the US way.

I say! · Reply · 2 · 9 hours ago

Naotaka-office Igarashi: Ginza tricolor

Or say that it ignores the place of the essential, do not the issue. The suspect Buy oxycodone take a prescription in the United States in his father name, I think that it has been reported import hidden in the bottom of the bag or something, and. It is not impossible in the state of directors far from the company that represents Japan and if the state to use this medicine in cancer pain, received it only irresponsible even (since it comes to state you do not know when to die). If not, why legally prescribed, and what was it a really sent to the way like that smuggling does not send over the proceedings. It is funny.

Also it is not in even as much as narcotic analgesics called weak opioid domestic but there are several powerful analgesics also. You might properly be used doctor less.

By the way, if you use a narcotic analgesics for pain relief, such as cancer pain, drug action, addiction does not occur, it is common sense of relaxation therapy is that. In the case of oral administration, side effects, such as death does not happen basically. The United States has caused the drug is rampant problem in that sense, we can say even that too much inappropriate. There is no need to import up to bad things.

I say! · Reply · 3 · 17 hours ago

Moriya knowledge-work destination: freedom industry

This suspect before you send for the oxycodone, what I had seen in the Japanese medical institutions?

I say! · Reply · 2 · 19 hours ago

Junji Yamamoto

Such that there is no relationship at all! !

I say! · Reply · 5 hours ago

Watanabe Toru Hachioji, Tokyo

In, what you want to say? Hide~e the sentence and Chimau configuration force 哄~Tsu

I say! · Reply · 3 · 19 hours ago

Sakamoto Hideo

Something, late Edo period, Edo of namamugi incident, such as day-to-day common sense sense of repetition like a and incidents feeling's Na ... really habit tradition of is different is major cause of ···> o <

I say! · Reply · 2 · 19 hours ago

AFTER THE NEWS CYCLE: TOYOTA expands TAKATA AIRBAG RECALL

PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION COMING OUT AFTER THE NEWS CYCLE DURING A LONG HOLIDAY WEEKEND WHEN THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WON'T NOTICE!


THIS ARTICLE IS PARTICULARLY WORRISOME:

Japanese Secrecy & Cover-Up: REFUSE to IDENTIFY MAKE WITH EXPLODING TAKATA AIRBAG!

The air bag from a 2003 car ruptured during testing of devices from scrapped vehicles in Gifu prefecture, Masato Sahashi, a ministry official, told reporters today at a briefing in Tokyo. The Nov. 6 incident may result in a recall once the reason for the malfunction is determined, Sahashi said, declining to name the automaker or model.

In the article below, it appears that this is the model referred to...WHY THE SECRECY?:

A Toyota spokesman said the scrapped car was a 2003 Will Cypha, a Japan-only compact model that is no longer in production.

Toyota recalls more cars for dangerous Takata air bags

By Chang-Ran Kim and Mari Saito

TOKYO Thu Nov 27, 2014

 

 

A security guard walks under the logo of Toyota Motor Corp at the company's showroom in Tokyo June 17, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Yuya Shino

Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it would recall 57,000 vehicles globally to replace potentially deadly air bags made by Takata Corp, as a safety crisis around the Japanese auto parts maker looks far from being contained.

Toyota's action follows a recall by rival Honda Motor Co for the same problem two weeks ago after revelations of a fifth death, in Malaysia, linked to Takata's air bag inflator. More than 16 million vehicles have been recalled worldwide since 2008 over Takata's air bag inflators, which can explode with too much force and spray metal fragments into the car.

Toyota is recalling some Vitz subcompacts, called Yaris in some markets, and RAV4 crossover models made between December 2002 and March 2004. About 40,000 are in Japan, 6,000 in Europe and the rest in other markets outside North America. Toyota said it was not aware of any injury or death related to the recall.

Separately, Toyota's small-car subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Co also issued a recall, in Japan, of 27,571 Mira minivehicles produced between December 2002 and May 2003 for the same reason - its first recall involving Takata inflators.

About 2.6 million vehicles have been recalled in Japan so far for Takata's air bag inflators, a transport ministry official said.

Takata-related recalls are almost certain to balloon after U.S. safety regulators on Wednesday ordered the company to expand a regional recall of driver-side air bags to cover the entire United States, not just hot and humid areas where the air bag inflators are thought to become more volatile.

Takata has so far resisted expanding the recall, saying that could divert replacement parts away from the high-humidity regions that need them most.





TUESDAY DEADLINE

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has given Takata until Tuesday to issue a nationwide recall, and could fine it up to $7,000 per vehicle if it doesn't comply. It remains unclear how many more vehicles that would add, but it could be in the millions, affecting five automakers: Ford Motor Co, Honda, Chrysler Group LLC, Mazda Motor Corp and BMW AG.

A U.S.-wide recall of driver-side air bags could cost an estimated 70 billion yen ($600 million), Nomura Credit Research analyst Shintaro Niimura wrote in a Nov. 26 report.

"Takata could need nearly 200 billion yen ($1.7 billion) of reserves in the event of a U.S. nationwide recall (including passenger-side air bags), and the company's cash-on-hand would be tightly squeezed," he wrote, noting Takata had just 8.33 billion yen of cash and deposits.

"If the company makes any missteps, we cannot say that there is 'zero' chance of the company dying a sudden death - that is, being hit with excessive debt or facing a cash-insolvency bankruptcy," Niimura added.



SHARES HIT

*****************

NHTSA's action and the latest recalls come on the heels of an announcement by Japan's transport ministry on Wednesday that it received a report of an "unusual deployment" of a Takata air bag as it was being removed from a scrapped car on Nov. 6. The inflator was manufactured in January 2003 at Takata's Monclova, Mexico factory, and had not been subject to recalls, at least in Japan, raising the prospect of an expanded recall, the ministry said.

A Toyota spokesman said the scrapped car was a 2003 Will Cypha, a Japan-only compact model that is no longer in production. Toyota said it was investigating the issue as part of its wider probe into Takata's air bag inflators. "We will take prompt and appropriate action if we find there is a need for a recall as a result of the investigation," it said.

Takata shares dropped as much as 7.9 percent in Tokyo on Thursday, closing down 4.8 percent. Toyota shares eased 0.5 percent and Daihatsu shares slipped 1.2 percent, roughly in line with the broader market. Shares of Honda, Takata's top customer, underperformed other auto stocks, falling 3.3 percent.

Honda had said the Takata air bag inflator that failed in the Malaysia crash had likely been exposed to excessive moisture at the supplier's now-shuttered plant in LaGrange, Georgia. A transport ministry official said no further recalls are expected in Japan related to the problem identified at the LaGrange line between November 2001 and November 2003.

A second U.S. congressional hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, where representatives from Takata, NHTSA and several automakers will testify.

($1 = 117.3600 yen)



(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

Devin Xu, 47, died from head injuries sustained "as a result of the deployment of an air bag," citing a "metallic portion" that hit him in the face as it deployed

Lawsuit Filed in Death of Man Due to Faulty Air Bag

By Hetty Chang

 

VIDEO ON LINK

 

 

A grieving Southern California family has filed a lawsuit, blaming a faulty air bag for their loved one’s death. Hetty Chang reports from Alhambra for the NBC4 News at 11 on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014.

 

Wednesday, Nov 26, 2014

 

The lawyer for a family of a SoCal man suing air bag maker Takata said he is certain he'd be alive today had his air bag deployed properly.

 

According to the lawsuit and the medical examiner's report obtained by NBC4, Devin Xu, 47, died from head injuries sustained "as a result of the deployment of an air bag," citing a "metallic portion" that hit him in the face as it deployed.

• UpdatedUrgent Air Bag Warning: Updated List of Cars That Should Be Fixed

•  

"It's the type of thing that air bags are designed to protect against," said attorney Gary Dordick, who hopes Xu's lawsuit adds to mounting pressure for a nationwide recall on vehicles with air bags made by Japan's Takata Corporation.

 

Xu's family is suing Honda and Takata for punitive damages.

 

 

On Monday, Honda admitted it failed to report more than 1,7000 injury and death claims about its vehicles to U.S. safety regulators, a violation of federal law.

 

On Sept. 3, 2013 Xu was leaving the parking lot of an Alhambra restaurant where he worked as a chef. A medical issue caused him to lose control of his car and strike several cars before hitting a wall, Dordick said.

 

 

The impact caused Xu's air bag to deploy and explode, causing metal particles to strike him, ultimately resulting in his death, Dordick said.

 

Due to the nature of Xu's injuries, police who responded to his death initially thought they were dealing with a homicide, which is similar to what happened in at least one of five other deaths reportedly linked to faulty Takata air bags.

 

"They come out with an explosion with such force that the injuries are being misidentified as gunshot wounds," Dordick said of the sharp objects spewing out of the air bags, hitting passengers in the face.

 

"My client lost her husband. The children lost their father. They'll never be able to pick those pieces up again," he said.

 

Xu's 2002 Acura is one of hundreds of car models representing as many as 8 million cars named in the current international Takata recall.

 

The company has limited its recall in the U.S. to the Gulf region because it believes humidity is part of the problem.

 

A statement translated from Japanese to English on Takata's website refers to the investigation into a fatal accident that occurred in Malaysia in July 2014:

 

"The moisture absorption control of the gas generating agent in some driver seat air bags had not been correctly implemented at the time of manufacture, as a result of which an inflater canister may rupture when the air bag deploys."

 

"There's no moisture problem in California," said Dordick. "How many people have to get hurt? How many people have to die before they do the right thing?"

 

The lawsuit was filed the same day Takata executives testified before a Senate committee apologizing to the families of those who may have been impacted.

 

Auto industry experts have been watching Takata's actions closely. At least one expert warned of the unintended consequences.

 

"I'm seeing people posting on forums instructions on how to disable an air bag because they're worried," said Todd Turner, president of Car Concepts. "It's the worst thing you can possibly do."

 

Turner does not condone Takata's actions, but urged consumers to take a look at the bigger picture.

 

"You're looking at almost 50 million cars a year that are being sold in the world. Most of those have air bags in them," he said. "(In) most cases they work."

 

"We have information as early as 2005 (that) they knew about this problem," Dordick said. "They knew people were getting hurt and killed — so why eight years later is my client's husband and father killed for the same problem?"

 

 

 

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Lawsuit-Filed-in-Death-of-Man-Due-to-Faulty-Airbag-283928861.html

 

 

Japanese Secrecy & Cover-Up: REFUSE to IDENTIFY MAKE WITH EXPLODING TAKATA AIRBAG!

Your life is at risk, the lives of your passengers and family are at risk because of the AUTO INDUSTRY FAILURES and COVER-UPS!



Stephanie Erdman.....

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 20: Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) (R) holds up a photo of Stephanie Erdman of Destin, Florida, of her face injury by the airbag explosion in her Honda Civic after a traffic accident last year, as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) (L) looks on during a hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee November 20, 2014 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing to examine defects in airbags manufactured by Takata and their recall process. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
FROM: Senators Get No Clear Answers On Air Bag Safety

...Schostek acknowledged that Honda violated federal requirements to report deaths, injuries and safety defects to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.


Another Phony Baloney Japanese “deeply sorry and anguished”   after another Japanese COVER-UP....

.....Hiroshi Shimizu, Takata’s head of quality, said the Japanese parts supplier is “deeply sorry and anguished” about each instance of air bag inflators not performing as designed.

....senators were stymied by what they considered evasive answers from Takata, Honda and Chrysler executives. And they suggested a cover-up by Takata, which reportedly conducted secret tests of the air bags in 2004.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., whose Commerce subcommittee investigated the General Motors ignition-switch debacle, saw echoes of that in the air bag problem now under scrutiny.

She noted “an industry that fears no consequences from not complying with the law” and a federal regulator lacking the resources and expertise “to properly do its job.”

...Shimizu said he was first told in 2005 about the problems, but said Takata did not inform NHTSA at that time. Takata conducted an investigation of the defects in 2007, he testified.


Hien Thi Tran lost her life because of an EXPLODING TAKATA AIRBAG...

Takata Air-Bag Rupture in Japan Test Signals More Recalls

By Ma Jie, Yuki Hagiwara and Craig TrudellNov 26, 2014

 

 

 

Japan’s transportation ministry said a Takata Corp. (7312) air bag ruptured in a model not covered by existing recalls, suggesting automakers may have to expand safety campaigns to replace the devices linked to five deaths.

The air bag from a 2003 car ruptured during testing of devices from scrapped vehicles in Gifu prefecture, Masato Sahashi, a ministry official, told reporters today at a briefing in Tokyo. The Nov. 6 incident may result in a recall once the reason for the malfunction is determined, Sahashi said, declining to name the automaker or model.

Japanese regulators are stepping up pressure on Takata over its air bags, which have been linked to at least four deaths in the U.S. and a fatal accident in Malaysia. The scrutiny adds to investigations of Takata and its customers including Honda Motor Co. (7267) in the U.S., where the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is trying to determine why the devices are deploying with too much force and shooting metal shrapnel at passengers.

The Takata air bag was the seventh to have ruptured during tests in Japan, where 700,000 of the devices were evaluated in 2012 and 2013, Sahashi said. The previous six were in cars included in recalls, he said.

The ministry said yesterday it was forming a group to oversee recalls of vehicles equipped with the devices, and that it was aware of four air-bag ruptures in vehicles that were in use. There were no injuries because the front passenger seats were not occupied when the air bags deployed.

Takata spokeswoman Kikko Takai couldn’t immediately comment on the transport ministry briefing when contacted.





 

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-26/takata-air-bag-rupture-in-japan-test-signals-more-recalls.html