TOKYO: The Japanese government censured the country's largest carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. and urged it to follow improved recall practices even as the company is being investigated in a 2004 accident caused by faulty steering.
Japan's ministry of land, infrastructure and transport issued a "guidance" order to the company advising it to report to the ministry by 4 August the steps it is taking to monitor defects and to improve communications between various sections in the company overseeing recalls of vehicles, design and other operations.
The ministry, however, did not impose a fine or find the company guilty of any law violations.
Industry observers, however, said public prosecutors can still file charges against the company in the criminal investigations.
The company said it will do its best to improve its practices as advised by the ministry. Executive vice president Masatami Takimoto said the company takes the directives from the ministry very seriously.
Three of Toyota's officials are being probed on charges of professional negligence for avoiding recalls for eight years. The police had said in early July that papers pertaining to these officers are being sent to the prosecutors. Police allege these officers knew about the problems as far back as 1996 but did not take any action. The faulty steering, into which the investigations are being conducted, police say, could have caused an August 2004 mishap that injured five people.
The company had maintained that the reported problems did not require a recall. It had, however, recalled some 330,000 Hilux Surf vehicles made between December 1988 and May 1996 in October 2004. The recall affected a total of a million vehicles in 180 countries.
The company has profusely apologized for the recalls.
President Katsuaki Watanabe told a news conference Thursday the world-class quality that "we've built is our lifeline. There will be no growth without an improvement in quality. This is the biggest task that this management team must undertake. "
Toyota has set up a new dedicated division to gather information on glitches in its vehicles.
