针对日本政府受到指责称其在本国的召回过程中监管不力，可能部分导致丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp.)处理安全问题时出现延误，日本交通管理部门计划收紧与汽车召回有关的规定以进行回应。
Japan's transport authorities are planning to tighten rules related to vehicle recalls, responding to criticism that insufficient government oversight in the nation's recall process may have contributed to delays in the handling of safety problems at Toyota Motor Corp.
日本国土交通大臣前原诚司(Seiji Maehara)周二称政府将对召回体制的多个方面进行审查，力求强化其收集车辆问题信息并在必要时强制执行补救措施的权力与能力。
Transport minister Seiji Maehara said Tuesday the government will review several aspects of the recall system with an eye toward strengthening its authority and capability in gathering information on vehicle problems and enforcing remedial action when necessary.
前原诚司在新闻发布会上说，我倾向于认为丰田很可能没有完全与政府共享信息。我认为强化我们的信息收集系统是极其重要的，这样即便当问题对制造 商显得微不足道时，交通部和消费者也能得到全面的解释。
'I tend to think there is a great possibility that Toyota didn't share information with the government properly,' Mr. Maehara said at a press conference. 'I think it's extremely important to strengthen our information-gathering system so the [transport] ministry and the consumers are given full explanations even when the problems seem trivial to the manufacturers.'
在美国监管当局强化了对丰田公司安全措施的审查之际，前原诚司做出上述表态。丰田公司首席执行长丰田章男(Akio Toyoda)周三将面临美国国会的质询。该公司已证实收到了联邦大陪审团和证券交易委员会(Securities and Exchange Commission)的传票。
Mr. Maehara's remarks came as authorities in the U.S. intensify their scrutiny of safety practices at Toyota. Chief executive Akio Toyoda is set to face a grilling by lawmakers in Washington Wednesday. The company has also confirmed receiving subpoenas from a federal grand jury and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
前原诚司称日本国家交通安全和环境实验室(National Traffic Safety and Environment Laboratory)应扩充人员。在车辆问题被上报或受到怀疑时，由该实验室展开实质性的调查。该实验室中负责汽车召回的部门仅有16名员工，其中15 名是兼职员工。前原诚司说日本政府还将研究现有的在发现问题时进行强制召回的体制是否足够，但未做出进一步解释。
Mr. Maehara said the staff of the National Traffic Safety and Environment Laboratory-the agency that conducts actual investigations when vehicle problems are reported or suspected-should be expanded. The section in the laboratory responsible for auto recalls has only 16 staffers, 15 of which are part-time employees. The government will also study whether the existing system to enforce a recall when it sees a problem is sufficient, the minister said, without giving further explanation.
专家称，尽管过去10年间日本的召回规定已经严格了许多，但仍比美国的规定宽松，使得丰田能够在问题被上报之后拖延其召回的步伐。只有在发现车 辆出现不符合国家安全标准的问题时，日本才要求汽车制造商向政府报告召回。其它类型的维修均基于自愿，不受政府的监督。
Experts say even after considerable tightening over the past decade, Japan's recall rules are looser than in the U.S., allowing Toyota to drag its feet on recalling its vehicles after problems are reported. In Japan, auto makers are required to report recalls to the government only if the vehicles are found to have problems that fail to comply with the national safety standard. Other types of repairs are done on a voluntary basis without the supervision of the government.
在美国，如果发现车辆有与安全相关的缺陷，则必须在美国国家公路交通安全局(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)的监督之下召回全部车辆，而不是在只有不符合现有标准时才强制召回。
In the U.S., all vehicles must be recalled under the supervision of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration if 'safety-related defects' are detected, not just when failing to meet the existing standard.