He hasn't bowed in apology. He hasn't resigned. But this week Toyota President Akio Toyoda did perform one of the typical rituals of a Japanese executive under attack: He wept publicly.
The image of Toyoda choking up during a meeting with American dealers is winning accolades in Japan, a society that has always had a soft spot for such displays of emotion.
The footage was broadcast over and over on TV news Thursday. Toyoda, 53, was barely able to finish his sentences at the meeting with dozens of Toyota dealers in Washington — a far more receptive crowd than the skeptical U.S. lawmakers who had grilled him about the automaker's safety lapses and massive recalls at a congressional hearing.
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