Elephunk comments

@Lars, you are confusing desires of Chechen militants with desires of majority of Chechen people. I have been to several parts of Russia and surrounding countries, so yeah, I'm pretty sure I am more qualified to make that assessment than you are. There is an article about a militant group in US who wanted to wage war on US govt and make their own country out of 4 Michigan counties because they feel that US govt is oppressing them - are you going to support their bid for independence? You need to re-read some of your comments cause they sound unintelligent.

@guest, yeah, it would have been good if the film was actually shown on Japanese TV, which it isnt.

Lars, if you think that Chechens live like slaves, you are either delusional, have no idea of the meaning of the word "slave", or just using a hyperbole to make your point. Chechnya has been a part of Russia for hundreds of years and life there is very comparable to the way life is in other parts of Russia. How do I know? I've actually been there. Sure, Russians are brutal, especially when it comes to waging war, but you dont know jack about what Chechen militia does to its own people if you think that their life would improve if Russians left and militia would take over. One of the goals of militia is to implement Sharia law in all of Chechnya (google it); now that is more like slavery. In any case, majority of Chehcens actually want to be part of Russia (How I know? I've actually asked) and see those militants as the crazy nutter terrorists that they actually are. Life in Chechnya had improved significantly after the war (well, by Russian standards anyway) so the terrorists need to keep inflicting chaos to keep themselves relevant.

Oh, and I would give the point that "modern Japanese would never do something like this so there is no point in teaching it" some credit if in fact there were no sentiment of racial superiority in modern Japanese society; however, even people like SpeedRacer know that in reality it is not the truth. Last time I've checked, Japan is not exactly a beacon of human rights and international understanding. In the country where people are denied housing, employment opportunities, and business patronage based solely on the fact that they are of different race, teaching about what implications of those beliefs can lead to sure seems like a relevant thing to do. We do it here in the US, and we have a hellova better human rights record in our "modern" history.

Yeah Frungy, the problem is that those text books dont contain any of this info and as time goes by any info of Japanese wrongdoing is being erased. Apparently people like 5SpeedRacer5 dont think that it's relevant for young Japanese to know about atrocities that their country had committed. For someone who have stated before that he doesnt want to be an apologist for ignorance, he(or she) sure comes off as one. Is it not relevant for Americans to learn about slavery? Is it not relevant for Germans to learn that their country slaughtered millions of people just cause they were different? Remember, the old saying is as true today as it was when it was first said; those who forget the history are doomed to repeat it. It's pathetic to hear people like SpeedRacer try to justify whitewashing of history; he (or she) sure seems to bring up other countries' history when he/she needs to make the point, but not Japan's, not when it doesnt fit with his/hers narrative. Bottom line is, history, even when it's unpleasant, needs to be taught so new generations wont repeat the mistake of the past.

I have little sympathy for sex-industry workers; no matter how you try to justify it, there is always a choice. Most of them didnt end up in this profession because it was either this or starvation; they've ended up here because this was a much easier choice as compared to hard and honest work. Also, these establishments are almost always connected to organized crime; why do they expect a decent treatment from their criminal bosses? Do they think that yakuza will obey employment laws?

Japan - 1 : Nature - 0. Suck on that Tuna!

Well, this was the idea behind globalization; bring the rest of the world close to US level of prosperity. Nothing wrong with high quality professional people choosing countries other then US; in fact, it was not normal that US was the only country to offer real opportunities (on a large scale) for so long now. I wouldn't worry too much about "brain leak" from US though; our country offers much more than China and other places can; a place to have a decent life with relatively few restrictions, where people wont look at you like you are a freak if you happen to be of different race (for the most part), and where people look at and embrace immigrants as part of their society and not as outsiders. Coming to US as an immigrant, I can honestly say that most people treat you as an American as soon as you "step off the boat", even when you are not actually a US citizen. The same thing cannot be said for a lot of the countries mentioned in this article.

Good on them. Would like to see those weapons reduced to about 100 each; that would give enough deterrence and not leave the rest of the world in ruins if something did go down.

@5sppedracer5: looks like toyota was well aware that they've had issues with electronics causing acceleration: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/22/toyota.throttle.warning/index.html?hpt=T2

oops, looks like Toyota lied about it not being electronics after all: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/22/toyota.throttle.warning/index.html?hpt=T2

I think the message is 1. Don't sell cars in countries where people drive like babies. 2. Don't list stocks where people make important financial decisions like babies.

Lets add some more points to your list, shall we?

Dont design cars that speed out of control even if the cause is something as simple as car mat (something Toyota had already admitted to). Dont lie about known safety defects for decades and then pretend like you are innocent (seized internal documents and past employee testimony point to this). And most importantly, dont do all this in your largest market, especially if you are a foreign company. See, unlike in Japan, we are not brainwashed from an early age that all our products are superior to everyone else and are beyond scrutany; also, in US we expect all companies (domestic and foreign) to adhere to certain safety standards. I know that in Japan most of the scandals are kept on the down low (often times with bribes), but this is not the case in US (for the most part). We go hard after our own companies who deceive both customers and investors (think Enron and others) so do not expect Toyota to get some preferential treatment. If a similar thing happened in Japan (with American company), then our company what have been friggin crucified by the Japanese, so lets not pretend like Toyota is getting some unfair treatment. Toyota is perfectly aware of US regulations and the fact that our corporations face a sea of lawsuits if the crap hits the fan, yet they chose to do business in US anyways. Over the years, Toyota got rich off US consumers and now they will pay for their arrogance. Dont like our rules, GTFO our market. Is it not what Japan tells to foreign companies?

@Philly, check and mate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww btw, I am an American and I am astounded by the lack of international awareness on the part of my countrymen. Recently, one of the business school students at my university was giving an in-class presentation and one of his opening statements was that "in other European countries, such as Australia...", this is a friggin senior at the university! So yeah, I think that an average American doesnt know/care about what really goes on outside US, not when compared to most other western countries.

@bicultural huh?

The fact is, the magazine maintains, the U.S. needs Toyota more than Toyota needs the U.S. Where did president Toyoda jet straight from Washington? To Beijing, where he declared China be a Toyota priority. Naturally. It, not the U.S., is now the world’s No. 1 auto market. “That,” comments the economist, “gave the Americans pause.”

What a load of rubbish; made me laugh out loud. Not only do most of Americans not care about this, over 99.9% of Americans didnt even know the he went to Beijing after he testified in US or that China is #1 auto market. How can it give Americans pause if they dont even know about it? How many people in US do you think read international news (not that it's anything to be proud of)? Most of Americans think that US is the king of the world (for good or bad) and are very ignorant about things that take place outside of US. While it's cute that she is trying to make it look like Americans are scared that they will lose Toyota's attention in favor to China, the fact (and a sad one at that) remains that most of Americans just dont give a damn about what goes on outside our borders. And again, even if China is #1 auto market, the million dollar question is for what kind of autos? Certainly not for the kind that Toyota makes.

Whats new? A Japanese economist makes assertions based on their nationalistic feelings rather than economic facts. US is by far the largest market for Toyota and it will remain so for a foreseeable future. People who think China is a hot item, think about not in terms of overall position (it doesnt mean much) but in term of individual purchasing power. While China's overall economy is #3, their per capita GDP is FAR less than that of US. I think that it is 10 times less than that of US.

The fact remains that the average Chinese will never be able to afford a Toyota and a vast majority of China's automobile consumers buy locally made (and far cheaper) cars. If Toyota thinks that their future is with China, they are truly foolish. China itself has no interest in a foreign manufacturers leeching off their car sales. People here say that US is biased towards Toyota cause the government controls 60% of GM (we had to bail em out). Well think about this, Chinese government has a majority stake in all of Chinese car companies and has an aggressive agenda to sell Chinese-made cars all over the world (and especially in US); how friendly do you think they will be toward a foreign car company (a Japanese one at that) coming in and stealing their business?

This lady says that US needs Toyota, well that is just rubbish. Demand for cars in US is still on the rise, so if Toyota looses sales in US, it will be because US consumers instead buy either domestic cars or other foreign cars (who have factories in US too btw). Whatever US jobs will be lost because of Totota's fiasco, will be made up by US jobs created from domestic car sales and other foreign cars sales (who's factories, again, are often located in US). Often times, those companies hire laid off workers from other auto manufacturers.

These are cold hard facts and a view of someone who has been a loyal Toyota owner for the past 10 years (so I dont have domestic car bias or agenda); speaking purely from a business point of view, if Toyota doesnt play its cards right, they will be in a world of hurt.

not a goof idea for chinese to piss off australians considering how badly chinese need australia to supply them with iron ore. I think that they just shooting themselves in the foot.

hmm, after re-reading my post I sound like an ass. I apologize to Japanese on this forum. This is a complex issue and I'm sure that I am way off on some of these points. It does seem strange thought that worlds 2nd largest economy does very little in terms of charity, both internationally and at home. I dont know though, would love to hear what actual Japanese here think about the issue.

Hmm, lets see... how about fundamentally change the way Japanese society works? No more bullying (at all stages in life), no more brutal suppression of people showing even a hint of individuality, no more group-think, no more slave-like work environment, no more culture of "shame" in general, no more pretending that problems don't exist... the list goes on. My impression of Japanese society so far is that there is a very little tolerance for people who "fail" (or dont live up to society/family expectations) and there is almost no social safety nets. Because of this, the individuals who are ostracized from their various groups feel like they have nothing to live for and, as a consequence, take their own life. There are certainly benefits to the way Japanese society is setup (and frankly, as an outsider it is not always appropriate to criticize), but I think that on a societal level, Japanese people have little compassion for their fellow human beings (especially those in need).

Soviet Union was doing "great" too, right until it collapsed (I was there). A country where all negative information about it is brutally surpassed has no future as a world leader. Money will only buy you so much and if the rest of the world perceives you as a corrupt and brutal regime (which is in fact what china is), they will not except your leadership. Remember, all it takes to ruin Chinese economy is for US and Europe to stop trading with them (which they have a right to considering numerous consumer products safety violations).

Toyota provides thousands of Americans with jobs (and doesn't lay them off en masse when hard times hit) so I highly doubt that US government is going to drive them out. This is a legitimate inquiry into a problem that caused dozens of US citizens to die; Toyota is not treated more harshly than an American auto company would be in this case (there were hearings held for Ford when they've had problems). In any case, this is nothing compared to a crap-shoot that would happen/does happen when a foreign company messes up in Japan.

Good on him. Regardless of whether the whole cover-up happened or not, going to US and testifying in front of the congress will help reassure American consumers that at least Toyota cares enough to send their main guy. If he didn't go, it would cost Toyota billions of dollars in lost revenue due to loss of confidence in the brand name considering that the media would not let this issue drop. This is what CEO supposed to act like - putting company's best interests ahead of his own pride. Probably the first smart move that Toyota made with regard to this PR nightmare.

Yuri, funny how you mention exploding Ford tires considering that Bridgestone (the company that made those tires) is owned and operated by Japanese. Gotta love the double standard; if there is even a possibility of a foreign product being defective (like the case of American beef imports when there was nothing actually wrong with the beef but a "risk" of mad cow) Japan bans them outright, on the other hand, dozens of Americans died due to Toyota's faulty engineering and the coverup, and if Americans dare to even complain then it must be Japan bashing. Hypocritical much?

Be careful what you wish for Mr Hotoyama. The military bases is what keeps the US/Japan trade relations in such a huge imbalance that favors Japan heavily. With those bases gone you lose the leverage Japan has; I really doubt that you will like the "equal" relations once you have nothing to bargain with.

japan seems to have a territorial dispute with every country that surrounds it. is it an asian thing or something to fight for every scrap of land?