U.S. transport authorities have taken the exceptional step of effectively increasing the scope of recalls of vehicles equipped with the company’s air bags，expanding them from high-humidity states to the full nation. This reflects the strong distrust U.S. authorities and Congress feel toward Takata and Honda Motor Co. for their delay in complying with requests for a recall。
Honda Motor and Mazda Motor may have to recall another 200，000 cars in Japan to replace Takata Corp air bags if Takata complies with a U.S. order to recall cars across the United States rather than just in humid regions。
Japan’s transport minister said on Friday that he was concerned that repeated recalls involving Takata Corp’s potentially defective air bags could undermine trust in the country’s auto industry and manufacturing quality. Mr Akihiro Ohta also said the ministry has asked Takata to report on how it plans to respond to the US auto regulator’s recent call to expand recalls nationwide in the United States。
The remarks are the most severe to date by the governmenton the recalls and show that authorities are grasping the potential for a crisis involving the nation’s biggest manufacturers to damage its international standing。
Executivesfrom Takata and Honda—the car company most affected by the air-bag problems—arescheduled to be on Capitol Hill on Dec. 3 to testify before a House subcommittee. The hearing will come two weeks after executives were questioned by a Senate committee， and amid a Justice Department investigation into Takata’s response to the problem。
