The Japanese are Blaming the United States

The world’s biggest automaker Toyota, who is recalling millions of cars because of gas pedal problems, is now also facing brake problems in the Prius model. This latest development is causing some suspicions among the Japanese, and they are questioning if the United States is behind all of Toyota’s troubles.

Toyota’s safety issues have caused many to criticize them. However, most Japanese citizens are proud of Toyota. Many Japanese people have suspicions about the recall because of Toyota’s position as a big car producer in the United States. They are questioning if the United States purposely tried to hurt the company with this recall issue in order to help and support the U.S. car industry.

“I think the Americans are exaggerating this issue. The problem with the world’s biggest car producer is a big chance for the competitors of Toyota,” said Hiroyuki Komiya, who works at a restaurant in Tokyo.

“Toyota is big and famous and because of this, it is an easy target. Toyota’s image is getting negative publicity, and there is too much recent news about this recall issue,” said Masahiro Yasunaga, who works for a technology company.

U.S. automaker General Motor’s bankruptcy caused the company to reorganize, and part of that required the government to purchase 60.8 percent of the company’s stock. At this time, the criticism against Toyota is raising concerns among the Japanese that the U.S. government is behind this problem to help out General Motors.

Real estate agent Atsushi Kasai drives a 2009 Toyota Prius. He said that he has no worries about the Prius’s brake issues. He also said that “the world media are turning their attention to Toyota because it plays a big role in the world’s economy and they might be ‘jealous’ of Toyota.”

Although Japanese citizens think this way about the issue, the Japanese media are criticizing the company. The Japanese media think that Toyota’s president Akio Toyoda’s comment about the recall, which hurt Toyota’s image, is “late and not convincing.”

Japanese Transportation Minister Seiji Maehara said that Toyota should also recall its Prius model because of the brake issues and that Toyota needs to care more about its consumers.

The country’s leading economic newspaper Nikkei emphasized that Toyota’s problems should be solved quickly considering the United States’ increased protectionism.

Toyota is going to recall its Prius model

The Japanese media claim that Toyota is preparing to recall its Prius model. Yomiuri news agency released an article saying that “Toyota decided to recall a new model of its Prius hybrid vehicle … and informed auto dealers of its decision Saturday.”

The news agency also stated that Toyota is going to meet with the Japanese government this week about the issue, and by next week they are going to announce their recall on the Prius model. Kyodo news agency and TV Asahi also released similar news articles. Kyodo news agency stated that Toyota started giving out information to the car dealers in Japan and about 170,000 cars alone could be recalled in Japan alone.

“We will make an announcement soon on the action we plan to take,” Toyota’s spokesperson Ririko Takeuchi said. Bob Carter, the vice president of Toyota in the United States, said that the company informed the car dealers in the United States that they are working on a plan about the Prius and by next week they are going to give out detailed information.

In the United States, more than 100 Prius customers complained to Toyota that when they drive on a road with potholes, for a second the brake system does not respond. The U.S. government commented on this brake problem, stating that the Prius caused four accidents and two minor injuries to the drivers. In Japan, many people complained to Toyota about the brake problems as well.

This brake issue is affecting the Prius model that was released last May. 270,000 vehicles were sold in Japan and the United States. The Toyota Prius is the best-selling hybrid model in the world and since its release in May, it sold more than 300,000 vehicles in 60 different countries.

Americans are still trusting Toyota

Even though Toyota is going through all of this trouble, a survey conducted in the United States noted that Americans still trust Toyota.

ABC television, in a telephone poll reaching 1,012 Toyota owners between Jan. 28–31, found that 63 percent of the people who participated in the survey voted in favor of Toyota. This survey also noted that 72 percent of the participants see the gas pedal issue as fixable and that these new developments would not affect their opinion about purchasing a Toyota.

Japanese-owned companies such as Toyota, Honda and Sony are one of the most trusted brands in the United States. Toyota produces most of its cars on American soil. Last month, Toyota controlled 14 percent of the U.S. car market and ranked third after GM and Ford. Toyota, after the financial crisis of 2008, passed GM and became the world’s biggest car manufacturer.