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Feeling
her Toyota Mark X station wagon lurch
forward, Masako Sakai hit the brakes, but
the pedal was limp. Her car went 3,000 feet
and slammed into a Mercedes and taxi,
injuring everyone. Japanese authorities see consumer activists as dangerous. “I tried everything I could think of,” Mrs. Sakai, 64, said, as she recently recalled the accident that happened six months ago. Toyota — from her dealer to headquarters — has not responded to her inquiries, and Japanese authorities have been indifferent to her concerns as a consumer. Mrs. Sakai says the Tokyo Metropolitan Police urged her to sign a statement saying that she pressed the accelerator by mistake — something she strongly denies. She says the police told her she could have her damaged car back to get it repaired if she made that admission. She declined. Veterans of Japan’s consumer rights movement say that Mrs. Sakai, like many Japanese, is the victim of a Japanese establishment that values Japanese business over Japanese consumers. “In Japan, there is a phrase: if something smells, put a lid on it,” said Shunkichi Takayama, a Tokyo-based lawyer who has handled complaints related to Toyota vehicles. Toyota has recalled eight million cars outside Japan because of unexpected acceleration and other problems, but has insisted that there are no systemic problems with its cars sold in Japan. The company recalled the Prius for a brake problem earlier this year. People are unwilling to take on the country’s manufacturers at the risk of arrest.The state sides with the automakers, not the consumers. Automakers ignore safety standards. Skimping on safety, they generate profits to finance exports. In 1988 the Japanese Government ordered a nationwide study and tests, and urged automakers to introduce a fail-safe system to make sure brakes always overrode accelerators. 20 years later, Toyota promises to install a brake override system, but still denies there are problems with unintended acceleration. |
