Sanyo will offer free repairs for more than 880,000 microwave ovens sold in Japan to fix a wiring flaw that might cause a fire. The problem, which involves a faulty contact in the power cord, could lead to overheating, and in the worst case, fire, Sanyo said. The wiring flaw isn't present in export models, it said. The repairs cover 31 models of Sanyo microwave and electric ovens made between June 2000 and September 2007.

Sanyo got three reports of fires earlier this year involving ovens made in 2003 and in each case, the fire or smoke was contained inside the unit and did not cause injuries. The repairs could cost Sanyo ¥1 billion to ¥2billion ($ 9.3 million to $ 18.5 million).