Toyota CEO agrees to testify in U.S.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda said Thursday he will testify at a U.S. congressional hearing next week on the automaker's recalls.

Toyoda said in a statement he looks "forward to speaking directly with Congress and the American people."

Toyoda is the grandson of the Japanese automaker's founder. He had earlier said he wasn't planning to attend the hearings but would consider appearing before Congress if invited.

Toyoda's comments followed an invitation issued earlier in the day by the chairman of the U.S.House of Representatives committee investigating Toyota's massive recalls.

Edolphus Towns, chairman of the House oversight and government reform committee, wrote Toyodasayingthe CEO should testify at a hearing next week, citing questions from American motorists on "whether it is safe to drive their cars."

Towns said that the committee wanted Toyoda to "clarify" how the car manufacturer is addressing a widening recall crisis. The controversy over safety issues has burgeoned over the past four months with the recall of roughly 8.5 million vehicles.

"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," Towns wrote in a letter to Toyoda, in the wake of safety questions involving gas pedals, floor sets and brakes on various Toyota products.

Reports of deaths in the U.S. connected to sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles have surged in recent weeks, with the toll of deaths allegedly attributed to the problem reaching 34 since 2000, according to new consumer data gathered by the U.S. government.

In Japan and in the United States, Toyota Motor Corp. has been criticized for being too slow to respond to the recall crisis and the company's top executive has been accused of being largely invisible as the recalls escalated.

But he has held three news conferences in recent weeks, apologized repeatedly for the recalls and promised reforms.

Toyota has said it will create an outside review of company operations, do a better job of responding to customer complaints and improve communication with federal officials.

Toyoda has said he plans to travel to the U.S. soon to meet with workers and dealers but the company has not yet released his schedule.