Takata CEO Issues Public Apology, Talks Victim's Compensation Fund

That has not been the case for the embattled Japanese supplier, though. CEO Shigehisa Takada, 49, has been mostly absent when it comes to news on his company's future. Up until Thursday, that is.

Takada stepped up in front of cameras and issued a public apology for his company's handling of the massive airbag recall that's stricken his family's company. He opened the press conference by bowing deeply, a significant action in Japanese culture, and one previously used by Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda during his company's unintended acceleration recall.

"I felt that the priority of my job is to ensure our products are safe," Takada said. "I regret that I haven't offered enough explanations." This was Takada's second apology for the recall, with the first coming last year at a shareholder's meeting, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Takada also said that the company was exploring numerous options as a means of compensating victims of his company's airbags, which have can tragically spew shrapnel at drivers when they go off. The CEO's statements come on the heels of intense pressure from the US government to establish a victim's fund.

As for the actual issue that's causing the airbag inflator issue, the WSJ reports that very little info was given during the conference. Takada did, however, say that his company will continue to use ammonium nitrate in its inflator propellant, which has proven sensitive to the temperature and humidity, two of the factors thought to be the root of the airbag problems.