Japan: Investigate Dell Battery Issues

Pressure on Dell and Sony to investigate the issues surrounding the computer manufacturers exploding laptop battery problem is no longer coming from just the United States. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said the companies must find out why this is happening by the end of August and how it can be prevented, or face possible fines under the country's consumer safety laws.

In Japan, the ministry said at least twice in the past year, Sony batteries in the country had exploded and caught fire. Sony may have some early indications as to the cause of the problem: the company said that in the manufacturing process, loose metal shards within the battery were causing it to short circuit. However, Sony has not publicly confirmed that as the definite cause of the Dell battery issues.