Japan-Based Firms Will Plead Guilty To Price-Fixing Auto Parts

Nine Japan-based firms and two of its executives have agreed to plead guilty to fixing the prices of 30 products sold to U.S. car manufacturers, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.

The companies and executives have also agreed to pay more than $740 million in criminal fines for their role in the scheme.

"These international price-fixing conspiracies affected more than $5 billion in automobile parts sold to U.S. car manufacturers," Attorney General Eric Holder said during a news conference. "In total, more than 25 million cars purchased by American consumers were affected by the illegal conduct."

The bottom line, Holder said, is that Americans paid more for their cars than they should have because of the illegal activity.

The AP explains:

"The action is the latest development in the largest criminal investigation the Justice Department's criminal division has ever carried out. To date, it has resulted in charges against 20 companies and 21 executives, and the companies have agreed to pay $1.6 billion in criminal fines. ...

"Company executives used code names and met face to face in remote locations in the U.S. and Japan to rig bids, fix prices and allocate the supply of auto parts, the government alleged.

"Seventeen of the 21 executives charged so far have been sentenced to serve prison terms in the U.S. or have plea agreements calling for significant time behind bars."

The companies charged today are: Hitachi Automotive Systems; Mitsubishi Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; Mitsuba; Jtekt; NSK; T.RAD; Valeo Japan and Yamashita Rubber.

Tetsuya Kunida, a Japanese citizen and Gary Walker, a U.S. citizen, were the men charged.

Accessible Designs Could Help Us All — But Only If Firms Bite

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Alex Blaszczuk used Google Glass to shoot this self portait.

Courtesy of Alex Blaszczuk

Here are the basics about Alex Blaszczuk: She lives in Manhattan. She's 26. She has a 20 pound cat. She's a third year law student at Columbia University. And about 18 months ago she broke her neck.

Blaszczuk sometimes jokes that she wishes she'd done it bungee jumping. At least then she says she would have a better story.

"It was interesting. In the rehab floor I was on, I was the only woman because everyone is usually injured doing some kind of fun, extreme sport or diving," she says.

Blaszczuk was rear-ended by a car.

Spinal injuries are quirky. And in many ways, Blaszczuk says she's lucky. She isn't on a ventilator. She can move her shoulders. Still, the accident left her unable to do some of things she used to take for granted — things she loved, like taking pictures, turning the pages of her law school text books, writing with a pen, walking.

"I'm not that techie, but I have a lot of friends who are, and especially since my injury I feel like I get 15 e-mails a day that are like 'Have you heard about this crazy new thing that might help you?' " Blaszczuk says.

Many new technologies today promise to give us all superhero-like powers. We live in a world where endless facts and figures are at our fingertips. Self-driving cars promise that soon even your spouse could have an unerring sense of direction.

For the disabled, this kind personal, high-tech augmentation could open up new worlds — but only if the technologies are designed to be accessible. And many companies have yet to embrace the commercial opportunities.

Still, for Blaszczuk, technology has at times been liberating, like when she got an iPhone.

"It opened the world for me because the touch screen technology is the only way I read books, the only way I read anything," she says.

Touch screens and voice controls have allowed her to continue working toward a law degree. Next year, these devices will help make her legal practice possible.

Apple has made a huge effort to make all of its products from the smallest iPod nano to the Mac accessible. And for Blaszczuk, that's made an enormous difference.

When Google started selling Google Glass to a select few "explorers," Blaszczuk's friends came over and insisted she try to get a pair. And she did.

"Right after I got it, I went to London," Blaszczuk says. "I went for a wedding, and I actually caught the bouquet. I had Google Glass on, and the bouquet landed in my lap." She filmed the entire thing.

The voice activated controls have allowed Blaszczuk to start taking pictures again. She filmed a what she called a "rolling" tour of Brooklyn. Google encouraged her to take Glass on a camping trip.