パソコンをつけてニュースを見ていたら、ちょうどトヨタの社長が米議会下院の公聴会でリコール問題への謝罪をしているのをライブでやっていて、ついつい見入ってしまった。現在トヨタは一日に5万台のペースでリコール対象車の修理をしているとのこと。昨秋より不具合問題が浮上したにもかかわらず、日本本社の社長が今になるまで一度も謝罪・釈明に渡米していないことへの不満に加えて、アメリカ自動車業界が大きく落ち込む中、営業成績を伸ばしていたトヨタに対してのやっかみが上乗せされて、各州議員が入れ替わり立ち代り厳しい質問をしていた。豊田社長(写真真ん中）は、最初に用意されていた英文を日本語イントネーションべったりで読みあげたあと、質疑応答はもっばら横にいたトヨタ・アメリカ社長の稲葉氏（写真右。この人は英語はかなりネイティブ）が受けていて、たまに同時通訳の助けで日本語で応答をしていたけど、どうも頼りない感じ。トヨタには普通のひと同じく履歴書を提出して、同じように審査をされて入社したとのことだけど本当かなあ。慶応を出た後、バブソン大学という聞いたこともない大学でMBAを取ったらしいけど、世界のトヨタの社長の英語がアレじゃあなあという感じ。やっぱり三代目ってこと？個人的には、うちはトヨタしか乗らないとっても忠実な顧客だったわけで、これからも世界のトヨタでがんばってもらいたいけど。。。When I turned on my PC and accessed to daily news this morning they were showing on live the public hearing with Toyota president, Akio Inaba, before the congress. I did not plan to, but somehow stayed tuned for hours. Toyota is said to be dealing with the repair on the recalled vehicles at the pace of 50,000 cars per day. It was back in the late fall when this problem surfaced, but Mr. Toyoda of the parent company in Japan never visited the Unites States for an official apology nor clarification until today. Along with the dissatisfaction on the delayed response from years while the American counterparts have been rolling down the hill. Every state took turns to throw tough questions at him. After Mr. Toyoda first read a prepared statement with a strong Japanese accent, it was Mr. Inaba of Toyota America who answered most of the questions with a good command of English. Once in a while, Mr. Toyoda gave answers in Japanese through an interpreter, but he seems to lack the crispness and confidence. According to a source, to be hired by Toyota, he had to apply for a position by submitting his resume as all other candidates. He graduated from Keio University, a prominent private university in Tokyo and later received a MBA from Babson University, which I have never heard of. I cannot deny the doubt that he is there because he is the grandson of the founder. Personally, my husband and I are big fans and extremely loyal customers of Toyota cars. We do hope Toyota regains its world reputation on quality soon.
