>> translator: however, different regions do have its own cultures, its own customs and local people of a specific country work for a company and we deliver products to customers in the local markets. in that sense, i have been thinking since april that we will give greater initiative to different regions of the world. for example, by emphasizing more of the culture of the united states or the >> i recognize the gentleman from illinois, congress reasman davis. >> thank you. i thank the gentleman for

appearing before the committee. mr. toyoda, for years there have been complaints powered no your company. you were alerted something was causing cars to speed up up controlable by more than a year ago. cars to speed up uncontrollably more than a year ago. when did toyota first learn it had a problem with sudden unintended acceleration. why did it take you almost a year to bring this to the attention of regulators and even more time to tell the public about the problem? is there some policy in your company that prevents you from alerting regulators as quickly

as possible about a problem or the public so that we all become aware? [ speaking japanese ]

>> translator: in the name of our company's tradition and pride, i can clearly say that whenever a problem arises, toyota pursues is facts thoroughly and rigorously and looks into those matters in great detail. and in doing so, our fundamental approach and stance is to give the highest priority to customers' safety and convenience. in addition to that, once that is accomplished, we provide and create products that also satisfies the mandate of the times. for example, in conserving environment or existing in harmony with nature. now, with respect to your specific question of when we learned about this problem, i do not know when we learned about this problem. but i do hope that you would

understand the basic sense and attitude of the company which i described. >> reports were actually surfacing seemingly several years ago and yet it appears that there was no significant effort to deal with it until the accident in california. do you feel that your company acted quickly enough to begin to address the issue in a way that regulators and the public would know that you were doing so? [ speaking japanese ]

>> translator: as it turned out, in this particular case, the response, according to your impression, was not quick enough. however, going forward we will establish the framework very firmly and diligently so that we will not betray your expectations in that regard. and i will personally take leadership in putting a place the structure that will enable us to capture information from the local areas concerned in a more timely manner. >> media reports suggest that your company knew at least a year about the sticking pedals before you shared that information or communicated that

information to the regulators. do you think that was perhaps a bit lengthy of time to tell regulators if the company knew? [ speaking japanese ] >> now i know the sticky pedal situation is in question. and, yes, we knew that probably a year ago in europe. as i have been saying that this had not been shared well enough on this side. so we did not hide it, but it was not properly shared. so we need to do a much better job in sharing whatever is happening in europe should be known in the united states so that we are all alert to see if there is any danger to american consumers and drivers. the other issue is that the first information we get to know

in europe was all right-hand drive cars, and also different models, much smallerer cars than those models sold here, that's why initial judgment -- which turned out to be wrong -- but it was limited to a right-hand drive and much smaller cars. so there is a lack of maybe -- you may call it sensitivity, but there is no deliberate sort of delay in the process. >> well, let me just say i appreciate your answers and i thank you for indicating that you expect to do a better job. i'm always reminded of my mother who told us when i was a kid growing up that what you do speaks so loudly until it is hard for me to hear what you say. so i hope your actions will be certainly forthcoming. i thank you very much for your answers. >> thank you, gentleman from

illinois. now i call on the gentleman from california. >> thank you. mr. iniba, you just made a comment that was startling for me. i apologize that you have to testify in a second language and in a setting that may not be as comfortable as you as you prefer. but you stated that you had 100% -- you were 100% sure that the difficulties with the pedals, with the acceleration was not electronic, that it was not going to be involved with the data systems, that it was a physical problem. you stand by that statement? >> sir, may i clarify what i meant? because the question, i thought,

was that i personally -- what is my confidence level about etcs, electronic throttle control system, so my feeling is that since i have a trust in our engineers, even though it has not been extensively tested by the outsiders which i added, but my confidence -- persol confidence level is 100%. but i am only referring to etcs system, sir. >> okay. because it does concern me when anyone can say anything to 100%. it's one thing to stand behind your vehicles. it's one thing to ask the american people to stand in front of them, especially with their children. and 100% is a very strong statement. it's fine to say it here in these hearings, but out in the real world, we have had some terrible tragedies. i just want to make sure as being a representative in san diego where the tragedy that finally opened up this book

caused not only toyota but the american community to be willing to ask the tough questions that i don't think have been made. mr. toyoda, your family has spent decades creating a reputation that is second the to none. probably only compatible with the inventor of the automobile themselves. the big question is do you think there is a possibility that that reputation, being so good, might have made those of us who were regulators not ask the tough questions that we might have asked from general motors or some other automaker or that same reputation and feeling of success and confidence might have left toyota not to ask the tough questions of yourself? in other words, your success created the problem or created the atmosphere and the environment that allowed this

problem to go on from '07 to just recently? [ speaking japanese ] [speaking japanese]ñr

>> translator: i personally do not believe that we didn't ask that question because we had very high reputations. since i became president in july, i have been saying internally within the company that we need to heed customers, dealers, and we need to become a good listener. because of the inadequacy on my part, probably, that ability itself may not have spread widely within the company. but for the past 70 years we have been supported by customers and by our partners because toyota has been a company and listened to opinions of outsiders very modestly and sincerely. and you have my commitment that we will continue doing so going

forward. >> look, the damage done to the toyota name will do more -- will impact toyota more than anything this congress can do. the consumer and the market will wage a very -- demand a very high price from toyota for these mistakes. the question is, though, how do we prevent it in the future for toyota and everybody else. do you agree that the federal government of the united states should require all manufacturers, including toyota, to report all incidents of malfunctions no matter where in the world those occur? not just here in the united states. [ speaking japanese ]

[ speaking japanese ] >> translator: i personally believe that realistically there are limitations to the current engineering capability.

however, toyota has a challenging spirit to make things better or to correct inadequacies or troubles wherever that may happen. going forward, we'll continue to strive to minimize those troubles as close as possible to zero by examining each individual reported cases, putting them under scrutiny, and making public any findings in that process. and we would like to work together in this industry. >> in all fairness, i would just like a yes or no, should the federal government of the united states require toyota and every other manufacturer to report total malfunctions not just those within the jurisdiction of the united states. yes or no, should we require all information or shouldn't we? what is the position of mr. toyoda? [ speaking japanese ]

>> translator: we would like to extend full cooperation. >> so we'll take that as a yes? >> translator: yes. >> thank you. five minutes to the gentleman from texas. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i represent the san antonio area down through the valley where we have a toyota plant. currently right now there's 2,500 hardworking americans in the san antonio area plant where their jobs and family livelihood. i see jay here, which i visited, a couple of other folks here. so we're asking you to put toyota back on track so americans jobs are not put in jeopardy and of course the american drivers that are at risk is what we have to address. it is my hope you move swiftly

to fix the safety problems, rebuild the reputation talking about and restore the toyota legacy which employs americans here at home. american drivers and american workers are watching and waiting. toyota has a glowing legacy in this country for decades for the sake of safety and for the sake of jobs, we need to get that back. you all need to get that back. in this country we have american made toyotas made by american workers, american drivers behind the wheel. the responsibility toyota has to americans runs wide and runs deep. and this is about safety and this is about jobs. as i mentioned in my area, it doesn't include suppliers, about 5500 when you include everyone, does not include toyota dealers. millions of americans also drive

your vehicles. as i mentioned, i met with jay and a couple of other folks, a toyota forklift operator. she said even at this time of recession toyota has not let anybody off, has spared the employees and is still working. we appreciate that. without a doubt your ability to repair your reputation in this country will affect american workers an drivers who depend on toyota. one of the things i want to look at, in fairness, in fairness to all, when you look at the nhtsa numbers, you see -- i don't want to go, one company at 32%, i've handed this out, mr. chairman, one at 17%, another 15, and another, combined ones, toyota was at 11%. so in the past you were doing well, very well. but again, we now have to look at what lessons have we learned.

so my question, mr. toyoda, what lessons has your company learned as a result of these recalls? [ speaking japanese ] [ speaking japanese ] >> translator: this past data clearly places high evaluation

to our track record. however, currently we are having a series of recalls, brake system or accelerator pedals has caused concerns. but we are examining those matters, pursuing the true cause of those problems, identifying counter-measures. and going forward we'll make sure we get information more swiftly. and therefore, i will clearly say that going forward we will regain the good reputation as represented here in this track record. that's exactly what we are doing at the moment. >> mr. toyoda, in your major editorial that you wrote recently, you said that toyota, and i believe paraphrasing your word, has not lived up to the high standards itself. how has your company not lived up to the high standards?

[ speaking japanese ] >> translator: first, above anything else, we will make double commitment with new vigor to have sacht and customer first permeate through every business

and every process through toyota. that, i believe, would be the best way for us to win back the trust that we enjoyed in the past. on top of that as we deployed business globally, we will make every effort to enhance the transparency of our business in various parts of the world. >> time has expired. now call on the gentleman from tennessee, congressman duncan. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. yesterday a woman named rhonda smith testified at the energy and commerce committee and she's from east tennessee, from just outside my district, which is based around knoxville. she was driving into knoxville in her lexus automobile. on october 12th, 2006, three and a half years ago, and she experienced one of these sudden

acceleration events and her automobile reached 100 miles an hour. she said she thought it was her time to die. she said she called her husband and tried to put the car in reverse but the computer apparently didn't recognize it. she feels that toyota's response to her complaints was a farce. toyota apparently told her there was nothing wrong with her car. our investigators for energy and commerce committee and this committee have found their complaints started coming in about these events in 2001 and nhtsa started an investigation apparently in 2004 aimed at toyota. now, 2004, that's six years ago, if that investigation started early in the year. maybe five and a half years ago if it started late in the year.

but mr. toyota has said several times today that he just became president last summer, as if this excuses him. mr. inaba, though, became head, as i understand it, nine years ago of the u.s. toyota operation. now, one of my sons had a toyota forerunner several years ago and my wife drove a small lexus until about two years ago. both of those are very good automobiles. i think you've got a very good company and put out almost entirely good automobiles. i have a good impression of your company. but having said that, i don't believe i've heard a good answer today -- and i've been in and out some -- i don't believe i've heard a good answer or a complete answer as to why it took your company so long to respond to these complaints. because apparently there were many complaints. i've seen it described as

several hundred. i've seen it described as a few thousand. i don't know which it is. but there were many, many complaints. i appreciate the fact that you've expressed remorse and you say you're going to do better. but why was there not a response before now, when you had all these complaints? [ speaking japanese ]

[ speaking japanese ] >> translator: i listened to the testimony by miss smith yesterd yesterday, and i feel very sorry and regret for the fact that while she was driving a car, such huge anxiety was caused to her. at the same time, i apologize for the response by the dealer, which is not really up to our standards. as to why it took us so long, in order to accelerate our response

going forward, i have established the special committee for global quality, and we are now setting up the framework so that the first meeting can take place on march the 30th. we have deeply reflected on what has happened thus far. we learned a very important lesson from what has happened. to take actions for improvement as quickly as possible, i think, is the job that i really have to attend to at the moment. >> let me just say this. i understand there are no americans in the top leadership of toyota in japan. i think you can say there's many americans in the top leadership here. but it might be a good idea to put a couple of americans in the top leadership in japan. thank you. >> gentlemen, time has expired. now the congresswoman from california. >> a question to both the

president and the ceo here in the states. have you turned over every document to nhtsa that relates to the sticky pedal and the sudden unintended acceleration? >> i believe so. >> i believe so. >> there's not any suppressed document or secret document we're going to hear about a year from now? >> translator: that won't happen. >> the people of japan are very hospitable. i know that for a fact. this is the number two most important market for toyota in the world. when a united states regulators

flies to japan to meet with your leadership, i find it hard to believe that, one, you didn't know about the meeting. and two, you never had a report about the meeting. can you respond to that? [ speaking japanese ] >> translator: but that's a fact. and i regret that the response in that manner was not good. [ speaking japanese ]

>> translator: of course, there are things that we reflect upon. but i believe people in the quality division responded to that very adequately. that's my understanding and i hope you understand. >> i would like to ask you to turn over to the committee, any docuf, jo they had a service person test drive it. they told us they were unable

to duplicate the problem. my wife finally asked to speak to the head of the service department. he told her the truck needed to get used to her driving style and to give it a few months ta make the a judgments. they went to the internet and found similar complaints. we told the service people about what we found on the internet. they said they contacted toy eighta and few months. in capaci . in exasperation they went to the internet and found others. we went back and they continued to blame it on my wife. i want you to revow this complaint and report back to me. more importantly, i hope moving forward you never again use the excuse it was driver error.

[ speaking japanese ] >> translator: i didn't know about this case but we would like to give an explanation on that with documents and other means. all over the company, i will make sure we never, ever blame the customers going forward. >> thank you. one last question. you said safety first, mr. toyoda. we know that the electronic throttle control may be problematic. you've already decided to put

the override -- brake override chip into models moving forward. you are going to do it for some models retroactively. would you be willing for a customer who came into your dealership to offer that chip to anyone who had concerns about the safety of their vehicle? [ speaking japanese ] >> translator: i do not know the technical details, but if it is technically and engineerly possible and if we can find a

good method, we will do that. other than that, i do not know a good answer to that. >> all right. thank you. >> now call on the gentleman from ohio. >> i'm from california. >> california. >> thank you so much. may i say to you -- [ speaking japanese ] mine is more of a comment. mr. chairman, i'm going to concede my time. we do have another panel and there's another committee waiting for this room. currently about 8 million toyota vehicles have been recalled in this country due to the sudden unintended acceleration events and braking concerns. and i hope that the interest shown here in america will be

taken by so that you can fix whatever is causing this. and we hear it's computer driven, these causes. so i would hope -- and there's a saying that kaiser permanente uses, i hope we all thrive. i hope you thrive. we're concerned about the victims, they are going to be the next panel up. i was hoping we could get both panels together so they could explain what happened to them and you could comment. but a word to the wise, and that is listen closely, make a commitment to go back and make the decisions at the top so that your particular product will be, again, number one. with that -- [ speaking japanese ] thank you and i yield back my

time. >> thank you for yielding back your time. i recognize now the gentlewoman from ohio. >> i thank you mr. chairman, mr. toyoda, and your associates for coming today. mr. toyoda, i am not satisfied with your testimony. i'm being very forthcoming. i do not feel it reflects sufficient remorse for those who have died, and i do not think you have accurately reflected the large number of complaints that have been filed with toyota for a decade. i as one member am disappointed. i dedicate my testimony in memory of guadalupe alberto, age 76, who died when her 2005 toyota camry sped out of control and crashed into a tree. business week reports she blew past an intersection. witnesses saw her with both hands on the wheel.

she appeared to be standing on the brake while steering. where is the remorse? as far back as 2002, nhtsa -- and our government is at fault, too, records two toyota executives, both of whom were former nhtsa employees hired by your company, worked with their former co-workers, scott, you and jeffrey at nhtsa when it decided it wouldn't investigate what they termed longer duration incidents involving uncontrollable acceleration. i call it sudden death acceleration where brake pedal applications allegedly had no affect. nhtsa limited its investigation to those situations where it was a second or under a second. that was a major decision that

affected lives all through this decade. so i am disappointed. this book, "the toyota way," is used in business schools across this country. the author talks about your company's principles. principle number five reads, build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time. the first time. mr. toyoda, how did toyota lose its way? you say in your testimony your company grew too fast. some smart lawyers gave you those words. i think what happened was your company went from emphasizing

long-term quality values and corporate responsibilities to fighting against safety regulations, against insider influence inside this city and your own capital in japan, and environmental regulations. and, indeed, worker rights and car checks inside your companies. so is it the toyota way to use insider dealing to change decisions? is it the toyota way to push a deregulation agenda that works against the people of our country and other countries? do you know how many people in japan died because of what your company did? [ speaking japanese ]

>> translator: not just limiting to those individuals you specifically mentioned, i feel deeply sorry for those people who lost their lives, or who are injured by traffic accidents, especially those in our own cars. and i extend my sincerest condolences to them from the bottom of my heart. [ speaking japanese ] >> translator: i came from japan

to appear at this hearing. but at the same time i wanted -- i had been trying to convey my sincere feelings, my own beliefs to the people throughout the world. but the fact that was not something i will reflect upon. [ speaking japanese ] >> translator: as you pointed out, the development of people, human resources at toyota may not have kept pace with the pace

of expansion. i will observe that and look at that fact very sincerely. going forward to bring about and effect changes to become a better carmaker and to become a more transparent carmaker i think is the role and mission of myself as president. [ speaking japanese ] [ speaking japanese ]

>> translator: however, some customers of toyota, as a matter of fact many customers of toyota around me say they are willing to continue buying toyota vehicles going forward. as long as there is such customers feeling and accepting the gravity of those victims of traffic accidents, i think it is my responsibility to care for those customers and create cars for those customers. i believe that i am the only person who can display the leadership to transform a toyota in that direction. >> gentlewoman's time has expired. five minutes to the gentleman from missouri, congressman. >> thank you and that the witnesses for being here. mr. toyoda, yesterday, david gilbert, associate professor of automotive technology at

southern illinois university testified that toyota has an electronic problem. a conclusion he derived from testing that only took him three and a half hours. i note this his credentials are significant and he's very qualified to do this testing. toyota has announced that to help solve this problem, toyota will begin to install brake override systems on your cars. isn't it true that if what dr. gilbert testified to, that toyota has an electronics problem, you cannot be certain that a brake override system would even kick in and work when your electronics malfunction?

[ speaking japanese ] @@@@@@ [speaking japanese]

>> with respect to this problem. i gave instruction. we have conducted a number of reproduction tests.

>> i have a little more information about that. i would be glad to meet with him or have him meet with our engineers and explain his method -- test method. if there's any input he may have, we are willing to listen to the issue. but, we have some concerns as far as we know and our engineers gave us some concerns about it. he cut into the circuitry and manipulated the system in a way

that is very unrealistic. also mountain meantime with a very short time, we have conducted we have done three cars already with a very low ua rates. in other words, they are considered to be a very safe car. and it replicated the same way. so in my very amateur term, it is not unintended acceleration. it is an intended manipulation. >> so you have determined it's not electronic. but i would hope you would get with professor gilbert and compare your notes, compare your testing to make a determination

on whether it is or isn't. >> yes, sir. >> thank you. the time has expired. now call on the gentleman from ohio. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank our witnesses for their time today and for coming in and testifying before the committee. mr. inaba, i'm concerned about some of what you say in your testimony relative to what we have learned about toyota employees and former nhtsa employees. as has been explored by multiple members here today, there seems to be a conflict or certainly seems to be an effort on the part of former nhtsa employees employed by toyota or formerly employed by toyota to put a halt to investigations. i'll refer to the business week article on february 12th. it said one example, in a

lawsuit, the company and nhtsa expressed limiting unintended acceleration complaints to incidents lasting less than a second. that's what representative was referring to. all four of the probes, toyota aides helped end were complaints unintended acceleration was caused by flaws in the vehicle's electronic throttle systems. do you believe that had these efforts not been made to limit these investigations, that toyota as a company would have reacted more quickly and nhtsa would have reacted earlier to some of the problems that we're now addressing today in terms of the number of accidents and the severity of these accidents? >> well, i don't know any of the specific incidents or occurrence you can mentioned. as i said, i believe in their --

in two of our associates very high ethnic standard and also their integrity. so i have good reasons to believe in that, rather than just hinting this they may have some relationship in favor to us. also on the nhtsa part, they are a very, very professional team of people. >> just to follow up, you're suggesting they didn't engage in this behavior to try to limit the investigations and -- is that what you're saying? >> well, i don't know how to -- all i'm saying is that whatever they have done is within the very good ethical sort of code. >> my question, though, if the investigations had not been limited, if the investigations had not been limited, would we have addressed the situation earlier than we are today?

>> i think it is a very issue that since i don't know the conversation or event, i would not make any more comment on that. >> also, mr. inaba, in your testimony earlier, you suggested that the information in europe with regard to some of these challenges wasn't shared with folks in the united states. i personally find that hard to believe, that toyota here in the united states was unfamiliar with what was going on addressing sudden acceleration problems in europe. so i just want to make sure that i have this right. so you are saying that toyota of america was not aware of the efforts by toyota to address the sudden acceleration issues in europe, when that was going on. >> well, i must say in our term,

sticky pedal issues. i think in our term, toyota, american side, was not aware of that or was not informed of that. that is true. that's all i know. >> so when that was going on, when those complaints were being addressed, when solutions were being created and a recall taking place in europe, you were unaware of that here in the united states? >> i personally got to know that fact in january this year. >> i will just conclude with the case, i'm encouraged by the fact my folks in cincinnati when i went to the toyota dealership and went to the service department said they hadn't seen complaints. when i went back and looked at nhtsa records, it was pretty clear there were multiple complaints about sudden acceleration. i will just reflect upon this one. that i saw and it's a complaint

from 2009. the gentleman said i bought my tacoma three months ago i experienced the problem three times now, the last time after picking up my daughter from work. it was accelerating and i was literally standing on the brake. the engine was racing and it wouldn't stop. i threw it into neutral and it sounded like it would explode. i had no rugs, it did not come with any, i was going to get all weather mats but did not buy them yet. cruise control was not engaged, i do not consider myself to be an inexperienced driver. i used to race, actually. and he goes on. clearly this isn't a mat probably. this isn't a sticky pedal problem. this is a problem with an experienced driver experiencing sudden acceleration. this is in a 2005 tacoma. i think we certainly as a congress want to know and i think the american people want to know, if their vehicles are safe. if you can stand here today and

tell us that they don't risk because of a computer issue or an electronic issue sudden acceleration in toyota on the streets today. [ speaking japanese ]

>> translator: i do not know the tacoma case of 2005 or 2009, and, therefore, without knowing those specifics, i cannot give you any specific answer. but if i might just refer to electronics control system, to the system we have conducted various tests thus far to date, we have not encountered the same phenomenon as a result of that test. therefore, i believe the vehicle is safe. however, going forward, we are willing to work together in an open forum with industry partners to validate the situation, introducing opinions of other people, including professor gilbert for that matter. >> gentlemen, time has expired. >> thank you. >> let me say that, first of all, i really, really appreciate

your coming to testify. we really appreciate that. we look forward to your follow-up on the safety issue. because as i indicated to you, this is what this is all about, about safety and making certain when people get into cars, they are safe. we hope that you continue to work on that. let me say to you, mr. toyoda, i want you to know that i'm impressed with the fact that you came voluntarily to come before the committee to testify. i want you to know that that to me indicates your commitment, indicates your dedication, and that you are serious about making certain that these autos are safe. i want to thank you for that. i also want to thank you, mr. inaba, for your being in touch and understanding the fact that this is a serious issue that must be addressed. anything else you want to say? >> mr. chairman, if i could just

echo your words and say a great many promises were made, commitments for change. we look forward to seeing that as somebody who has worked with the society of automotive engineers for many years, i look forward to that change being spread throughout the design industry in qs 9,000 and other standards. i believe what we have begun here today is going to be critical for all automobile manufacturers particularly as we put more electronic systems in the car. i, again, thank you for your great distance and your patience through this long day. mr. chairman, i would ask unanimous consent that

>> live today, day-long coverage of the healthcare summit. president obama will meet with key members in the healthcare debate. will include your reaction. today on c-span 3. c-span radio and c-span .org. todd o c-span, washington journal is next live with your phone calls. later live coverage of the u.s. house. .