Sony says sorry for battery recall
Bows all round but no one bows out
By Nick Farrell: Wednesday 25 October 2006, 10:04
THE MAKER of exploding batteries, Sony has apologised to users for
the "inconvenience caused" by its global recall. According to the
Globe and Mail, in making the formal apology, the Sony Corporate
Executive Officer Yutaka Nakagawa bowed to the press, something we
don't see much of in the West. 
However other Sony executives broke with the ancient tradition and
stayed in their seats while their bowing boss said sorry. Maybe
they were less sorry than him.
Nakagawa said that now that the problems had been all fixed, it was
totally unnecessary for any of its high-flying management team to
resign over the cock-up.
This is despite the fact that Sony slashed its profit forecasts
last week claiming the battery recall, and the fact it had to drop
the silly price of its next-generation PlayStation 3, were
responsible.
A spokesSony said that improvements in production, design and
inspection would prevent a recurrence of any laptop overheating
problems. He confirmed that the problems were caused by microscopic
metal particles that mistakenly got inside the battery, causing
short-circuiting.
Top management, including Chief Executive Howard Stringer and
President Ryoji Chubachi, who also did not bow, would stay on at
the company, Sony officials said. 