Takashi Usami

The seven include Takashi Usami, 63, former chairman of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., who was vice president of MMC in January 2002 when the fatal accident occurred, and Akio Hanawa, 63, former Mitsubishi Motors managing director.

Company officials had blamed poor maintenance for the accident in a report to industry regulators, even though some executives allegedly were aware of defects that could cause wheels to detach on Mitsubishi trucks.

Akio Hanawa

The government filed a separate criminal complaint against Mitsubishi Motors on May 6 alleging that it tried to cover up design faults.

Although the company spun off Mitsubishi Fuso in January 2003, both have been involved in probes of dozens of wheel-separation accidents dating back more than a decade. Two years after the fatal accident, Mitsubishi Fuso acknowledged in March that design flaws in its wheel hubs could have led to accidents and has since begun recalling some 220,000 vehicles.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 15, 2004
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