Takashi Usami

The four included former Mitsubishi Motors President Katsuhiko Kawasoe (pictured) and Takashi Usami, former chairman of the company's truck-making affiliate, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. Usami was charged in May over a separate accident the same year, when a wheel flew off a Mitsubishi truck and crushed a woman pedestrian to death.

Katsuhiko Kawasoe

The executives were charged with professional negligence resulting in death. If found guilty, they face up to five years in prison or fines of ¥500,000.

A 39-year-old driver of a Mitsubishi truck was killed in October 2002 when a design flaw caused his brakes to fail and sent his vehicle crashing into a concrete rampart.

Prosecutors say the executives were aware of the defect six years before the accident but failed to report it to authorities or take appropriate safety measures.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 10, 2004
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