It would now appear that his recall, at least in Japan, has to do with defective brake lights or connections. From a Dow Jones release on the matter:

"The brake lights in the vehicles, manufactured between January 1999 and August this year, could fail to work due to faulty switches, the biggest Japanese automaker said in a report to Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "

Includes some 500,000 cars in 12 different models, including the Prius. Since North American Prius are made in Japan just like the others, I'd imagine this will show up in the US, and in Canada, sooner or later, but I've yet to hear anything from Toyota Canada about it.

A "throw-away" line later in the story is a source of more concern: "The vehicles could also fail to operate as a result of defective fuel pumps, Kyodo said."

It's not clear if this applies to ALL vehicles that are involved in the brake light recall, or certain models only.

Anyone else heard anything about this matter, its applicability to North American Prius, or the more troubling statement about the fuel pump?