WASHINGTON -- The Toshiba Corp. apologized today to 'the American people, the administration and Congress' in scores of full-page, coast-to-coast newspaper ads for the sale to the Soviet Union of secret U.S. submarine technology by one of the Japanese giant's subsidiaries.

Revelation of the sale, which the Pentagon said damaged U.S. security, triggered a firestorm of reproach against Toshiba on Capitol Hill, including lawmakers threatening a ban on Toshiba imports and holding rallies urging Americans to stop buying Toshiba products.


'Toshiba Corporation shares the shock and anger of the American people, the administration and Congress at the recent conduct of one of our 50 major subsidiaries, Toshiba machine company,' the Toshiba ad said, without noting what 'the recent conduct' was.

The ad declared the parent 'Toshiba Corporation had no knowledge of this unauthorized action by TMC. ... Nevertheless, Toshiba Corporation profoundly apologizes for these past actions by a subsidiary of Toshiba.'

The ad is appearing today and Tuesday in 84 newspapers coast to coast, said Allison Holt, spokeswoman for Berkhemer and Kline Inc., the Los Angeles public relations firms for the Irvine, Calif., branch of Toshiba, America.

The 'conduct' by TMC involved sale to the Soviet Union of at least four huge machines for milling submarine propellers, enabling Soviet submarines to run as quietly as U.S. subs, thus making them harder to detect.

Accompanying the machines were computer programs to run them, which were sold by Kongsberg Vapenfabrik, a Norwegian government-owned company.

In a 92-5 vote, the Senate June 30 approved a two- to five-year ban on imports of Toshiba products and those made by the Norwegian firm. Similar bills are pending in the House.

Individual lawmakers also held rallies outside the Capitol urging American consumers to boycott Toshiba products, which include popular lap-top computers, television sets, micro-wave ovens, photocopiers, video-cassette recorders and semiconductors.

In response to the Senate vote and rallies, Toshiba July 2 issued a veiled warning that an import ban could affect more than $1 billion in sales and cause layoffs of some of the 4,000 American employees of Toshiba plants in 21 states in the United States.

The Toshiba ad said, 'As a measure of personal recognition of the grevious nature of TMC's action, both the chairman and the president of Toshiba Corporation have resigned. For the Japanese business world, this is the highest form of apology.'

And the ad pledges that Toshiba 'has begun to take corrective measures' to prevent a recurrence and declares that 'wrongdoers are now being prosecuted' in Japan.

Any import ban would require President Reagan's signature, and initial reaction by the State Department to the Senate vote was negative, cautioning that such a ban could be 'counterproductive' and 'contrary to the spirit and practice' of export control agreements.

'Right now it's (an import ban) part of the Senate trade bill, which has not been passed with the Senate yet,' Commerce Department spokeswoman Desiree Tucker said today, adding that such a ban is not part ofthe House version of the trade bill.

'We're against sanctions being imposed,' said Tucker. 'What we have done -- we have not taken any action.'

'But Toshiba U.S., has a distribution license,' that allows bulk sales in the United States, and Toshiba Japan comes under that license, she noted.

That license expired in March, was extended to June 30 and then allowed to expire, Tucker said. 'They can still ship,' but under individual license requirements for each shipment, instead of in bulk.

The department is reviewing Toshiba licensing procedures before issuing another bulk license and, 'at the request of Toshiba,' is meeting with representatives of the firm to improve export control procedures -- 'which does not mean we are investigating them,' she said.

Toshiba, with $22.6 billion in sales worldwide in the fiscal year that ended March 31, has total U.S. sales of $2 billion, most of that imports. The firm has plants Lebanon, Tenn., Houston, and Sunnyvale and Irvine, Calif.