Takata President Makes Public Apology For Airbag Deaths

TOKYO (Bloomberg) -- Takata Corp. President Shigehisa Takada made a public apology for the eight deaths and hundreds of injuries related to the company’s airbags dating back more than a decade. Takada, 49, bowed and apologized at a press briefing in Tokyo after the company’s annual shareholders meeting today. He said the safety components supplier is considering ways to help victims, including by setting up a fund to compensate them. “I apologize for not having been able to communicate directly earlier, and also apologize for people who died or were injured,” Takada said. “I feel sorry our products hurt customers, despite the fact that we are a supplier of safety products.” Takada has previously apologized in written statements and print advertisements in U.S. newspapers. The grandson of the Japanese company’s founder spoke hours after Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., two of Takata’s biggest customers, recalled another 3 million vehicles with airbags produced by the supplier. All fatalities related to Takata airbags, which can deploy too forcefully and shoot shrapnel at vehicle occupants, have occurred in Honda Motor Co. cars, and the devices have injured more than 100. Takata will continue to use ammonium nitrate as the propellant that inflates its airbags through a chemical reaction, Senior Vice President Hiroshi Shimizu said.  

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