Japan wants answers from Apple over iPad Nano fires

The Japanese industry ministry has ordered that tech giant Apple give answers on what it will do to prevent its iPad Nano products from overheating and catching fire.

An official from the ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry told AFP that overheating of the 2005 model has caused over 27 incidents. Six of those incidents involved fires that needed to be put out by fire workers.

“Four people burned themselves after they touched the device, which had overheated during charging,” he said.

“The ministry repeatedly asked Apple Japan to take market measures, such as giving warnings or recalling the products, but it has failed to do so,” he said. An order was issued last week.

The problem comes just weeks after critics have slammed Apple for the faulty iPhone 4 antenna. A similar issue was encountered last year, when users in Europe reported screens on the iPhone 3GS gadget were exploding randomly.