Japanese Companies Recall China-Made Globes
January 22, 2008 by Julie Bonner
Filed under News Stories, Product Recalls
The fourth Japanese company,Debika, has had to recall their China-made globes due to the fact that the globes identify Taiwan as a part of China. Many customers and media outlets were not very happy with these globes and wanted them removed from stores immediately.
Three other toy companies – Gakken Toys, TakaraTomy and Yanoman – had to do the same thing this past week.
Here’s what a spokesman for Debika had to say about the situation:
A spokesman for Debika said that in the past, the company produced its globes in Taiwan and that it only switched production to China last year.
The spokesman said the company was pressured by the Chinese government into showing Taiwan as belonging to China on its globes in order to avoid having its products barred from export to Japan if it did not comply.
Debika has already sold thousands of the globes on which Taiwan is labeled as part of China, according to the Sankei Shimbun report.
Boy, that’s a bummer. At least they don’t have lead in them right?
