Takata expresses condolences to victims, but restructuring plan favors automakers

According to foreign media reports, on June 27, the day after Japan's Takata announced its application for bankruptcy protection, Takata expressed condolences and sympathy to those who were injured or killed due to airbag safety hazards, but did not make a formal apology.

It is reported that Takata's defective airbags have caused at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide. Among them, the number of injured and accidental deaths in the United States is as high as about 100. Takata has reserved $125 million for personal lawsuits caused by hidden dangers.

In his first media appearance in nearly a year and a half, Takada and several other executives bowed deeply at Takata's last annual shareholder meeting on June 27, expressing remorse to the victims and saying, "We express our condolences and sympathy to those who lost their lives and those who were injured."

As the grandson of Takata's founder, Takata Shigehisa was also criticized by the Japanese media for failing to express condolences to the victims on the day of the bankruptcy announcement. In response to the criticism, Takata Shigehisa said, "Some people told me that I should not cause any prejudice, and I am ashamed of this."

However, one investor in Tokyo said Takada "has been making excuses and blaming the media and people around him, and now this outcome is completely expected."

Apologies are expressed, but the restructuring plan still favors car companies

On the same day that Shigehisa Takata held his shareholders' meeting, lawyers representing American car owners injured in the Takata airbag explosion case told a U.S. bankruptcy court judge that the company's restructuring plan was more biased towards the interests of the automaker rather than the interests of the victimized car owners.

Several lawyers representing victims told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon that Takata had made many concessions to automakers without investigating their demands.

On June 25, TK Holdings, a US subsidiary of Japan's Takata Corporation, filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. It is reported that most of Takata's debt creditors are automakers, mainly because automakers have recalled and replaced millions of airbags. Moreover, the company's restructuring plan relies heavily on financial support from its customers.

However, lawyers for Takata subsidiary TK Holding and GM said that the importance of seeking financial assistance far outweighs the need to investigate the protection that automakers deserve, which can be reviewed later. In response to the above debate, Shannon said he would respond in due course, but "not today."

Kevin Dean, an attorney at Motley Rice, urged Shannon to ensure that current and future individual victims have their own official committee, including a budget for lawyers and consultants. Dean said, "There will be a large number of cases related to defective airbags in the next 10 years, and we are currently dealing with plaintiffs who have been particularly seriously injured." Shannon said she would appoint a committee.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.