More vehicles have been recalled in Japan since April than in any year previously, largely due to potentially fatal Takata Corp. air bag inflators, the government said Thursday.
A total of 10,292,339 cars were recalled in connection with 131 cases reported to the transport ministry between April 1 and Sept. 3, surpassing the roughly 9.5 million vehicles recalled for all of fiscal 2014.
Recalls related to the Takata inflators accounted for around 6.7 million vehicles, or about 65 percent of the total.
Three of the 131 cases affected more than 1 million vehicles each.
The largest case came in April when Suzuki Motor Corp. recalled about 1.9 million vehicles, including police cars, due to fears ignition switches could catch fire.
Toyota Motor Corp. recalled around 1.4 million vehicles and Honda Motor Co. about 1.7 million in May over Takata's air bag inflators, which have been known to explode and spray metal fragments inside vehicles.
Regulators have linked eight deaths, mostly in the United States, and more than 100 injuries worldwide to the faulty components.
"As vehicles are sharing a growing number of parts, even one problem can cause massive recalls," a ministry official said.
Two automakers — Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Honda Motor — reported further recalls on Thursday.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. recalled 451,369 minicars built between April 2013 and June 2015 due to possible engine problems. The models included Mitsubishi eK Wagon and eK Space units, as well as Dayz and Dayz Roox models sold under the Nissan Motor Co. brand. Honda Motor recalled 254,317 vehicles in nine models produced between July 2013 and August 2014 because of a defective ignition plug design, including N-Box minicars, Fit compact cars and Vezel sport utility vehicles.