Japanese car-parts supplier to recall 34m airbags after six deaths

The dubious honour of the largest consumer recall in US history — which was once held by Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol drug — now belongs to the Japanese car-parts supplier, Takata.

34m of the company’s airbags, having caused at least six deaths and having injured more than 100 people, will have to be replaced. But it’s not too late to hope some good can come from this misfortune.

It should be a wake-up call for the Japanese government and the global car industry. It’s fair to wonder what exactly Takata knew about its defective products and when. The company, however, has not divulged itself. Since revelations began trickling out in 2008, Takata has resorted to Japan’s standard playbook for corporate scandals. Ignore, deny, delay — then bow deeply, apologise and get back to business as usual. The Japanese government and media have enabled the company’s obfuscations. Takata chairman, Shigehisa Takada, and his team were never hauled in for a parliamentary grilling.