The US Government, which is the majority shareholder of General Motors, is also the arbiter of automobile safety in the USA.  Currently GM’s biggest competitor, Toyota, is having serious quality issues and the NHTSA (part of the US Government’s Transportation Department) is turning up the heat.

I don’t have enough data to comment on whether Toyota’s quality issues are as serious as they sound. But if I were a Japanese citizen reading about the timing of the recalls and that GM is owned by the safety enforcer I would be extremely suspicious.

I’m reminded of what I used to call “Caesars wife’s rule.”  Caesars wife should never act improperly but she also should never be in a position where there can even be any suspicion that she acted improperly.  The US Government has violated this principle and the Japanese have a right to be suspicious.

If the Japanese get as mad as I would about this it could develop into a very serious conflict.  Remember that the people of Central America are still suspicious of US intentions in their region, because of the actions of the filibuster William Walker a hundred and fifty years ago.