Japan is having a meltdown about quality "problems." The New York Times reported that in the wake of recent, large-scale recalls of defective products made by Toyota and Sony, Japanese experts, manufacturers and even the trade minister are calling for a serious evaluation of manufacturing quality.
The Japanese response to this "problem" has been misguided. Experts have theorized that juvenile delinquency, rising crime rates, a drop in engineering students and even the end of guaranteed lifetime employment as reasons for the "decline." As part of the response, Japan's trade minister has sent letters to the executives at Sony demanding they report on quality improvements. Elementary schools in Kyoto are timing students to see how quickly they can recite multiplication tables.