Mazda's overseas recalls to exceed 500,000

The automaker has already filed applications with local authorities by Tuesday to recall 215,000 vehicles in the United States and nearly 11,000 in China. It plans to broaden the net to include major export markets such as Europe and Australia, the paper said.

These recalls target the Axela and the Premacy manufactured in Japan from 2007 to 2009. In some markets, those cars are known as the Mazda3 and the Mazda5, respectively, it said.

The recalls concern models that are one generation older than the most recent versions, the Nikkei reported.

Mazda is conducting the recalls because power-steering parts could rust and cease to function properly, the paper said.

The company last year remedied the problem for models in Japan, but did not fix the problem overseas right away, with a company official explaining that "it is not a problem that can lead to serious accidents," the paper reported.

There have been no reports of accidents related to the problem, the Nikkei said.