"I accept.”

Akio Toyoda, the CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation has agreed to testify before the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform only one day after refusing to do so.

“I have received Congressman Towns’ invitation to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 24 and I accept,” Toyoda said in a brief written statement this afternoon.

“I look forward to speaking directly with Congress and the American people,” Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, concluded.  

Toyota previously confirmed  its Number two U.S. executive, Jim Lentz, will testify before a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel headed by  Bart Stupak (D-MI).  Stupak — up for reelection in an atmosphere where all Congressman are increasingly despised by voters for their partisanship inaction — has just rescheduled his hearing to be one  day ahead of Toyoda’s appearance in front of Towns.

Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) announced last month that his  Committee is investigating Toyota’s recall of millions of its vehicles due to reports of “malfunctioning” gas pedals. The hearing will examine the Federal government’s response to the recall, and what should be done about it, along with Toyota’s actions.

Look for leaked documents in the days ahead of the hearings – with apparently damaging excerpts from Toyota’s required written responses – by politicians to favored outlets such as the Washington Post and New York Times and other political media. Toyota’s fuller explanations will not be leaked, of course. It’s all about making  the politicians and their media water carriers look good.

In a drama that was as scripted as Japanese kabuki, Towns earlier today invited Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation, to testify at a hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 titled, “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public At Risk?”

In a letter to Mr. Toyoda dated and released earlier today Towns said in part:

“As you know, there is widespread public concern regarding reports of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota motor vehicles. Toyota has recalled millions of its vehicles and even halted production. In addition, there are reports that this problem may have been the direct cause of serious injury and even death.

“There appears to be growing public confusion regarding which vehicles may be affected and how people should respond. In short, the public is unsure as to what exactly the problem is, whether it is safe to drive their cars, or what they should do about it.

“To help clarify this situation, I am inviting you to testify at a hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Wednesday, February 24, 2010, at 10 a.m. in room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

“You may submit written testimony for the record, of any reasonable length. In addition to your written testimony, you should be prepared to provide a five-minute opening statement and answer questions posed by Members of the Committee.

“Information for witnesses appearing before the Committee is contained in the enclosed Witness Information Sheet. In particular, please note the procedures for submitting written testimony at least two business days prior to the hearing…”

Toyota then released the short statement saying the CEO would testify, reverses its plans to only send American-based executives to what are now three hearings – two in  Congress, and one in  the Senate.

All of this was arranged ahead of time, and behind the scenes, of course, with Towns likely threatening to use his subpoena power, if Toyoda refused to appear even though it is unlikely that such a legal move would be valid in Japan. But making a subpoena public  would have resulted in an even greater public relations fiasco – if that’s possible – than exists now at the beleaguered Japanese company, which has now recalled 8.5 million vehicles.

In a separate action today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the Toyota Corolla – the world’s most popular vehicles – for defective steering, which allegedly causes the compact car to veer out of control. (Click here for our earlier warning on this latest issue.)

(The decision to reverse course came just a day after Toyoda  announced, at his third news conference in two weeks, that he would not participate in the Capitol Hill hearing.  That initial decision was greeted with a roar of disapproval from political circles, as well as in the media – Click Here to read TheDetroitBureau.com editorial, published February 17, warning that such a move would threaten both the CEO’s and Toyota’s credibility.)