I, like most other people, have heard about the Toyota recalls and the growing sense of anger at the company for delaying those recalls.  I think it's a bit of an understatement to say that the majority of media outlets on TV and online, are covering the shit out of this story.  Today the President of Toyota Motor Corp., Akio Toyoda, goes before a Congressional committee to testify on the many deaths and injuries sustained because of rapid acceleration in several of their vehicle lines.

My first response to the growing debate over Toyota and whether or not I should join the cacophony of voices predicting the impending doom of the company, was to try and take a more reasonable approach.  The cynic in me is a little surprised by some of the reaction to a *GASP* for profit company cutting corners to increase the bottom line and expand into the number one spot, in the case of Toyota.  I'll probably be called a Communist, Socialist, Marxist, and Fascist, but there used to be laws under which a given corporation's goal was profit + the public good, and not just profit.  So, it just seems silly when people are surprised, at all, when individuals within corporations do shady things in the name of profit.  I mean, people are people, even when they work in a company.

I don't want to bash Toyota as a whole, primarily because there are a lot of people who work in the company who had nothing to do with the decisions that led to 39 known people dying.  I also, don't want to be an apologist for the company's management who were responsible, because whoever they turn out to be, should be dealt with accordingly.  Restitution should be made, but I'll just say, that you shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater, and that hopefully as the company moves forward they will get back to focusing on a better product as opposed to superior profits. 

Anyway, there is no equivalent in Japan for a corporation's president being called before politicians to answer questions, so it's a big deal in that country.  Incidentally, this is why I thought I would write this piece and record Mr. Toyoda's prepared statement.

Watch Akio Toyoda's statement below: