Honda Motor Co. is turning to an insider who has spent his entire career at the company to navigate its exit from a global auto safety crisis, after seven people died in its cars.

Takahiro Hachigo this week becomes the eighth president of one of Japan's most renowned companies. By replacing Takanobu Ito, whose tenure was plagued by recalls and rupturing Takata Corp. air bags, he upholds a 41-year custom of Honda presidents hand-picking their successors from within.

The steps Hachigo, 56, takes to tackle the troubles caused by its supplier will help determine whether he's the right man for the job. His supporters say he's a listener willing to seek consensus, traits that his more autocratic predecessor lacked. Still, those attributes won't sway detractors who want more radical change and a break from the insularity that has long characterized Japan Inc.