TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks slipped Friday as traders returned from a three-day break, with Takata hammered by news US regulators had ordered it to expand recalls of faulty airbags blamed for at least 13 deaths globally.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday ordered the embattled company to recall between 35 and 40 million more airbags installed in US cars.
US auto safety regulators on May 4, 2016 ordered Japanese manufacturer Takata to recall between 35 and 40 million airbags installed in US cars, to push for the replacement of dangerously explosive inflators. The decision comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that the inflators are prone to ruptures that have been tied to 11 deaths worldwide, and adds to nearly 29 million Takata airbags already recalled.
/ AFP PHOTO / TORU YAMANAKA
That is on top of the 50 million already recalled globally, including about 29 million in the United States, making it by far the biggest auto recall in US history.
Also Wednesday, Honda announced two more people in Malaysia had died in accidents linked to Takata-made airbags. Most deaths have been in the United States.
The news sent Takata plunging 8.58 percent to 341 yen in Tokyo.
The firm has lost more than 80 percent of its value over the past two years as it faces lawsuits, investigations and huge recall-related costs.
By the end of trade the benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.25 percent, or 40.66 points, at 16,106.72.
The Topix index of all first-section shares lost 0.13 percent, or 1.64 points, to 1,298.32.
However, the losses were tempered by a weaker yen. The dollar was above 107 yen Friday, up from the 106.50 range it sat at when Japan’s markets closed Monday for the extended break.
Trade was also cautious ahead of a key US April jobs report later in the day.
“With the US jobs report coming up, investors are holding back,” Masahiro Ichikawa, a senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management, told Bloomberg News.
Sony shares fell 3.86 percent to 2,563.5 yen, banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ was down 2.26 percent at 492.7 yen, and mobile giant SoftBank dropped 1.89 percent to 5,718 yen.
Olympus tumbled 4.64 percent to 4,010 yen after the camera and medical equipment maker announced a disappointing profit forecast for the current fiscal year.
Sharp’s volatile stock plunged 8.51 percent to 129 yen on reports that the ailing electronics giant may report a worse-than-expected loss for its past fiscal year.
But Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, rose 0.27 percent to 28,020 yen and Toyota was up 0.66 percent at 5,478 yen.
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