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Toyota's easy ride in Japan

14 Comments
By Yuri Kageyama

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14 Comments
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A number of people that claimed "modern Japan bashing" was the background and cause for the Toyota crisis should read this and take the information to rethink their simplified view on reality.

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It's called saving face for the other party or all parties involved. This is part of the Japanese culture. The other problem is the government and the court both being pro-business instead of for justice. Therefore, the debacle of Toyota happened because cover-up and dishonesty is not acceptable in the U.S. and other countries unlike in Japan. If Japan does not change their laws to protect the consumers instead of the companies then Japanese companies overseas have no credibility and respect where they are concerned.

The majority of Japanese people can believe it is Japan bashing since they don't want to face the truth and reality of Toyota and Japan in the 21st century of globalism.

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the debacle of Toyota happened because cover-up and dishonesty is not acceptable in the U.S. and other countries unlike in Japan. What planet are you from?

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. Therefore, the debacle of Toyota happened because cover-up and dishonesty is not acceptable in the U.S

Ahaha. Seriously! I don't even know where to begin!!

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@tanuki01 and chotto,

From the planet that some people who would have bought a Toyota prior to the recalled didn't. The word that describe Toyota is cover-up. Toyota will go down in history as covering up and attributes to the alleged 52 deaths. Toyota may still have some faithful followers left, but Toyota is just another car company now.

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"the debacle of Toyota happened because cover-up and dishonesty is not acceptable in the U.S. and other countries . . . "

One would have to also believe in the existence of Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy to think this statement could be even remotely true.

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skipbeat: alleged 52 deaths. I do not find even ONE that was confirmed.

Toyota sales are not droping. I just want the facts not the News Media

selling stories.

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All of this for some reason reminds me of that one line in fight club..

A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

Maybe Toyota took too long to figure out whether X was less than the cost of a recall ? =)

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Skipbeat, let me spell it out for you. Read your sentence again, and then tell me that you do not see any inaccuracy with what you said.

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This commentary was written by Yuri Kageyama. If Kageyama is a Japanese national then I congratulate her on here critical thinking of the Japanese industrial base. Japan needs more of the Kageyama types.

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This commentary was written by Yuri Kageyama. If Kageyama is a Japanese national then I congratulate her on here critical thinking of the Japanese industrial base.

She was, unsurprisingly, educated in the US and international schools. http://www.myeyestokyo.com/aboutme/Interview/pg13.html

I know I sound prejudice, but there's no way a Japanese education would give her those critical thinking skills.

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Buy a Ford, for God's sake and shut the hell up. LOL

I really don't think we are at all at the end of the Toyota Scandal - not yet; not be a long shot. And I hope the sordid truth comes out, every dirty bit of it, although here in Japan most people assume it will not due to Toyota's titanic advertising expenditures and the impact the lack of that would have on the media.

Out of sheer boredom and a dollop of American wit, these days I enjoy flagging down Prius taxis and then pretending I didn't know they were a Prius - and demanding to get out!

Japanese I know have also said they are absolutely sure the Toyota Scandal is the result of the Futenma fiasco. (sigh)

In any event, I would never buy a Toyota or any Japanese car - they are devoid of any sense of dream. They all seem... soulless. Like generic cars. Totally boring.

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tanuki01, are you a Toyota employee or manager be any chance? Read the article, and don't make out that this was all made up.

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@tanuki01 and chotto, I have to agree with skipbeat's original statement, America, while buddy buddy with big oil and GM, do have an independent monitoring body designed to keep automakers in line. Which is alot more than what Japan currently has... oh yeah, nothing. The corporations here are seen as faultless. Worshipped by the people and protected by the government. Its no wonder that in an environment such as this, that these companies can continue unhindered in making faulty cars. Japanese people see American action as an attack on Japanese corporate culture, not as a warning that there products are faulty. This naive hubris will be the downfall of Japan's auto industry, since much of their sales relied on reputation. Too many people here are in "Nippon-ichi" mode, to realize that maybe, just maybe, there's no real difference between that piece of turd GM car built in America, and their piece of turd car built in good ol' Nippon. Toyota cars are no longer seen as a cut above the rest, rather, just another car with potential risks, like all others.

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