STORY HIGHLIGHTS * Political ire toward Toyoda growing in Japan * Toyoda at first said he wouldn't attend hearing, then accepted formal invitation * Government monitors effects of Toyota's massive recall on Japanese exports RELATED TOPICS * Toyota Motor Corporation * Japan * Akio Toyoda (CNN) -- As Akio Toyoda prepares to sit before the klieg lights of a U.S. Congressional committee in Washington on Wednesday, the midnight lights of television sets will glow in corporate offices and government halls of power in Tokyo. Riding on his testimony, Toyoda -- the grandson of the company founder who took the reins as Toyota president in June -- carries not just the reputation of his company and his future leading it, but the weight of Japan Inc. Political leaders in Tokyo will be watching as the fate of Japan's premier brand falters in the market Toyota --- and most Japanese exports --- depend most upon. Yet also growing in Japan is an undercurrent of conspiracy theories: That the U.S. government, now majority owner of General Motors -- the world's largest automaker before Toyota took the throne last year -- has an interest in bringing down the reputation of the company and its leader. "There was a cab driver who was telling me that the other day, as we were driving in a Toyota," said Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian studies at Temple University's Japan campus in Tokyo. "There's a conspiracy theory, which some people are inclined to believe, that a nexus of events in the U.S. is making Japan a juicy scapegoat." Regardless, "the audience here is asking, is Akio going to deliver? He has a lot at stake not to," Kingston said. "Japan has lived through a 'lost decade,' which is now entering its third decade, and inside this national malaise they could at least bask in the reflective glory of the Toyota Motor Corp.," Kingston said. "All of the sudden, that is at risk." Video: Japan awaits Toyoda appearance Indeed, the nation's press is heaping pressure on the shoulders of Toyoda to defend Japan Inc. before U.S. legislators and consumers. "Considering that Toyota represents Japan's corporate identity, a loss in confidence would potentially affect all Japanese products," said a Friday editorial in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's equivalent to The Wall Street Journal. "In testifying before the House committee, we hope Toyoda will take to heart his position as the de facto captain of this nation's manufacturing industry," said a Saturday editorial in the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest newspaper. Known as "The Prince" in Japan, the scion of the Toyoda has stumbled badly in the eyes of the usually deferential Japanese press, after he disappeared from public view for two weeks while the recalls mounted across the globe. "There were editorials in the Nihon Keizai and Asahi the day after his first press conference basically saying, 'It's a day late and a dollar short -- you've made us look bad before the world,'" Kingston said. More … [Read more...]
