Shares in Japanese airbag maker Takata fell as much as 3.5% in morning trade before recovering, as media reports suggested more recalls over faulty airbags supplied by the company.
An additional 20 million Takata airbags would be recalled by car maker Honda, Nikkei newspaper reported on May 8.
Honda shares rose 1.6% in Tokyo, while Takata shares closed 0.3% down.
Meanwhile Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.7% to close at 16,216.03, following last week’s gains in the US.
In China, shares fell in response to the disappointing trade data released on May 8, which showed that both exports and imports fell more than expected in April.
The mainland benchmark Shanghai Composite fell 2.8% to close at 2,832.11 points while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fared better. That market index closed up 0.2% at 20,156.81.
In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 0.5% to close at a one-month low, at 1,967.81 points.
Australia’s benchmark ASX/200 rose 0.5%, closing at 5,320.70.
Mitsubishi and Mazda are recalling 630,000 vehicles in the largest Takata airbag recall.
The move comes just days after Takata said it was doubling the number of cars it had recalled to 34 million, affecting 11 carmakers.
Mazda is recalling 120,000 vehicles including the Atenza sedan, the Bongo van and two models that it builds for Nissan and Mitsubishi in Japan.
Mitsubishi is recalling 512,000 cars.
About 412,000 of those vehicles are outside Japan, the carmaker said.
Last week, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Daihatsu all recalled millions of cars because of Takata’s potentially deadly airbags.
Six deaths have been linked to Takata airbags that have all been in Honda cars. The airbags have also been connected to more than 100 injuries.
The embattled company faces multiple class action lawsuits and criminal and regulatory investigations in North America.
On May 21, Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, also said that it would help to get to the bottom of the problems with Takata’s airbags.
Investigations have shown that Takata airbag inflators were not properly sealed and could be damaged by moisture. It is alleged that the airbags can burst under pressure, spraying shrapnel inside the car.
Toyota’s vow comes as doubts are growing over whether the Japanese carmaker has enough financial power to deal with all the defects – an issue that could take years.
Takata saw a 5 billion yen ($41 million) extraordinary loss for the fiscal fourth quarter, stemming from costs related to previously announced recalls.
Takata Corp. has agreed to declare 33.8 million airbags defective, a move that will double the number of cars and trucks included in what is now the largest auto recall in US automotive history affecting models from 11 carmakers.
The number is double previous estimates for faulty airbags from the manufacturer.
US regulators said Takata has still not found the cause of the defects.
The airbags have been linked to six deaths and more than 100 injuries.
“Today is a major step forward for public safety,” US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.
“The Department of Transportation is taking the proactive steps necessary to ensure that defective inflators are replaced with safe ones as quickly as possible, and that the highest risks are addressed first.”
The Transport Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its analysis of test results “points to moisture infiltrating the defective inflators over extended periods of time as a factor”.
That moisture may make the chemicals that ignite to set off an airbag burn too quickly, causing the structure to break and “sends metal shards into the passenger cabin that can lead to serious injury or death”, said the administration.
Both passenger and driver airbags will be recalled in an effort that started in high-humidity areas of the US, but will now be national.
Last week, Honda and Daihatsu said they would recall some 5 million cars globally to replace the potentially deadly airbag inflators made by Japanese air bag maker Takata.
Toyota and Nissan also said they would be recalling 6.5 million vehicles over the same issue.
Honda said that the models affected included the Fit subcompact and would not affect its cars sold in the US, where most of the deaths occurred.
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