"People are going to feel sorry for him because he had to go through a theatrical ordeal overseas, a very unusual situation for a Japanese executive," said Kuniyoshi Shirai, executive adviser at A.C.E. Consulting in Tokyo.

Japanese protocol for corporate executives facing media and public scrutiny for wrongdoings usually calls for a deep bow initially at a press conference, for example, at which point hundreds of cameras usually start flashing, thereafter perhaps the offering of resignation to take responsibility and, sometimes, some sobbing to close.

A show of heartfelt remorse, particularly from a high ranking official typically not known for public displays of emotion such as Toyoda, goes a long way in consensus-oriented Japan, where intentions, not just results, carry meaning and what goes unspoken, speaks volumes.

While tears may be perceived as a sign of weakness in some countries, the Japanese public are swayed by emotions because empathy for a weak person is valued as an honorable trait, said Tatsumi Tanaka, president of Risk Hedge, a consultancy firm for major companies, on the Japanese public's sympathetic stance towards Toyoda.

"It's a special Japanese aesthetic," he said. "It's a virtue to acknowledge one's mistakes and mend one's ways, and crying is seen as a symbol of that."

Even with rigid social definitions in Japan of femininity as a soft dependence and masculinity as a stoic silence, high-profile men crying in public draws not only surprise but also favorable reviews and such traits are ingrained in Japanese cultural values.

It will no doubt take more than a few tears for Toyota to reverse it's misfortunes, but in Japan tears are seen as an acceptance of responsibility and the "beginning of the end."

From a cultural perspective, Toyoda's tears mark his pledge to bring an end to his firm's global crisis and move towards a new start as he explained.

"My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers, we will always put safety first from now on."

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2010)