Given Toyota Motor Corp.'s recent global recalls and subsequent safety worries, The Japan Times examined whether Japanese firms approach crisis management differently than their counterparts in other nations.

The publication notes that Toyota's troubles should serve as a "wakeup call" for many Japanese companies that appear ill-prepared to survive a corporate crisis.

"One of the first Japanese gestures in a crisis is the apology, even before cause, blame or other factors are determined - in other words men in dark suits bowing deeply to reporters," reads the story.

The story points out that in Western society, apologizing is often seen as an admission of guilt, but that the Japanese regard it as "acknowledgment of their social and moral responsibility and also sympathy."

In fact, foreign corporate leaders doing business in Japan often follow this practice, as Citigroup leaders did - bowing deeply at the start of their news conference - after Citibank's Tokyo branch was accused of wrongdoing.

The story examines the successes and failures of various Japanese companies that faced crises over the years, including: Mitsubishi Motor Corp.'s cover-up of customer complaints about vehicle faults, some of which proved deadly; the mass food-poisonings in 2000 linked to Snow Brand Milk Products Co. dairy products; and Panasonic Corp.'s recall of oil heaters blamed for causing carbon monoxide poisoning.

Read the story at http://www.japantimes.co.jp/.