U.S. senators say Takata may have put profits over safety

There's no 'may have' at all -- they did. Oh, but of course, they were 'misunderstood'! Takata needs to be sued out of existence after paying for all the recalls and replacements, preferably by other companies' products.

...Takata Corp may have placed profit over safety ....

Gee, y'think? There might be a lesson here somewhere .... something along the lines of "haste makes waste" ... let's say, "Corner cutting on product safety will bankrupt your company and put people in jail."

Pretty standard in Japan, profit and pride before safety, just look at Tepco.

Hmmmmm.... Given their whole brand is predicated on providing safety seems they would have to be really dumb to deliberately compromise safety. bit like a sweets company making foul tasting sweets on purpose.

Imagine that - a Japanese company putting profits over safety... gosh, I'd never imagine...(I'm being extremely sarcastic).

Yes many Japanese companies have ignored safety in making their products. but for an airbag company to deliberately do so seems a stretch. maybe negligent or sloppy....

Wakarimasen - loved your post and am flogging myself that I didn't see that irony weeks ago. This is one that really requires high-heel boots.

Kaerimashita: No, not a stretch at all. It's not what the company produces in terms of the ignoring standards but the management itself. The son is not a good owner, unlike his father, who built the business. He's a recluse and is clearly not interested in appearing and answering questions, and is quite content with delegating responsibility to anyone but himself, and doesn't care what happens so long as he doesn't have to deal with it. When the investigations began they found something they didn't like and began to cover it up because revealing the truth would be too much to deal with and too costly. Now they're screwed, so it's all a 'misunderstanding', etc.

Hmmmmm.... Given their whole brand is predicated on providing safety seems they would have to be really dumb to deliberately compromise safety. bit like a sweets company making foul tasting sweets on purpose.

Tell that to Mitsubishi.

Oh and tell it to all the automakers who could have installed airbags decades before they were forced into doing so as well.

A couple of problems here and there, yeah I might believe it, but will all the crap that this company is obviously responsible for cutting corners is not out of the question as I see it.

Kaerimashita,

Suggesting a Hollywood movie is probably not the most astute method of supporting an argument, however, see the film Class Action, directed by Michael Apted; starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio with Laurence Fishburne.

I feel it is somewhat based on the Ford Motor 'Pinto-goes-poof' case back in the 1970s.

Two things should be apparent: yeah, deliberate corner-cutting is not remotely far fetched, and 2nd, this is NOT a Japan specific corporate hobby.

"May have"? Did.

U.S. senators say Takata may have put profits over safety

Gosh, what a piercingly dynamic barb this statement is (sarcasm)!

And this "group" of nameless US senators, in spite of anonymity, still feel the need to cover their rear ends with "may have."

U.S. senators say Takata may have put profits over safety

As they say in Turkey, No Sheesh, Sherlock!

a Japanese company cutting corners to save a few buck!? the shock! I never would have though that was possible!

Having worked closely with executives in my risk management role for an international Japanese manufacturing corporation for years (not to mention Jwife a former Takata employee herself) I can confirm that based on my experiences and observations Job One is to keep the JBoys at the top, the Country Club if you will, fully insulated and fully above the law. The arrogance at the top, coupled with the racism, sexism, and parochialism, is astounding. I have been fighting the good fight, as I see it, but oftentimes they just don't get it. Through maintenance of profits and face, their comfortable cocoon is the paramount priority. Safety, employee well-being and morale, CSR, etc., while not completely ignored are all clearly subordinate to their Country Club. The Japanese ability to maintain a seat at the main table in global business is at complete risk without an evolution in their business values and I for one have begun to doubt whether they will be able to right the collective ship. That said, either through evolution or extinction change is unstoppable. Takata is just a current, visible example.

And I have also begun to think like a bit like Tina, albeit from a different tachiba: yes, folding up the tent and taking your brand of business home perhaps is not a bad idea for all concerned.

Japans reputation for quality(a big joke nowadays) continues to fall further down the crap hole.

Funny how the US senators say this about a few deaths from a product that is not known to kill people but turn a blind eye about letting companies in the US sell products that ARE KNOWN TO KILL PEOPLE AND THOSE WHO DON'T BUY OR CONSUME THEM. They even have a 'force of people' in the US called the ATF and while the A portion of it is not what I am referring to, the T and F are. Hypocrites when you talk about profits over safety and you pocket the kickbacks.