Toyota chief publicly pledges to improve quality control

Mr Toyoda, grandson of the car-maker's founder, said the problem became especially acute after the firm's global production and sales topped 6m vehicles in its 2002 financial year.

The firm's quality controls have been under fire after massive global recalls starting late last year for defective accelerators, faulty floor mats and flawed braking affecting more than eight million vehicles, mostly in the USA.

"It has been tough and frustrating emotionally for me, but we must accept it as an inevitable," he told a leading daily business newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday.

Mr Toyoda had previously been widely criticised for being invisible

when the quality problems surfaced last year.

He has appeared since then at news conferences in Japan and attended a US congressional hearing last month discussing Toyota's recalls.

He has also appeared on a Japanese TV news show, as well as on CNN's Larry King Live in the US.

Earlier this week, he wrote in his Japanese blog for the first time since the recall troubles hit, apologising to customers.

Writing as "Morizo", he said Toyota would "take seriously, accept humbly and respond sincerely" to criticism.

In the latest interview, he promised to beef up quality controls – including promoting non-Japanese employees – to better respond to different customer needs, to become a "small Toyota", instead of

focusing on sales expansion.

Joining forces with other carmakers was not a priority with Toyota, as strengthening networking with suppliers and dealers was more important, he said. Decisions about recalls would still remain in Japan, although Toyota plans to become quicker in responding to complaints from overseas, Mr Toyoda said.