Japan govt intensifies response to Takata flaws

Tokyo

IN April last year, Japan's transportation minister was asked at a news conference about potentially dangerous air bags made by Takata, the Japanese auto parts supplier. About 700,000 cars had just been recalled in the country because of defective Takata air bags, part of a larger global recall that has since ballooned to include more than 14 million vehicles.

The only response offered by the minister, Akihiro Ohta, according to a transcript from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, was that he "did not grasp the situation" and would "report back later". Nineteen months after that news conference, Mr Ohta has become vocal on the issue. Since mid-November, in a series of stern announcements, disclosures and directives to Takata and carmakers, the safety authorities in Japan have sharply intensified their public response to deadly air bag flaws.