10 Questions for Katsuaki Watanabe

After a 41-year apprenticeship at Toyota Motor, Katsuaki Watanabe became its president in June. Best known for a cost-cutting initiative that squeezed suppliers and saved nearly $10 billion over five years, Watanabe, 63, takes charge at a time when Toyota (2004 sales: 7.4 million vehicles) is on track to eclipse General Motors as the world's largest carmaker. He spoke to TIME's William Green and Michiko Toyama at his company's headquarters in Toyota City, east of Nagoya.

How can you avoid the dangers of what you've called "Big Business disease"of Toyota becoming too large and...