Kobe Steel admits it falsified product data

This article is more than 12 months old

Oct 10, 2017 06:00 am

TOKYO Major Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel admitted to systematically fabricating inspection data for aluminium and copper products that may have gone to around 200 clients.

The admission is the latest in a string of quality control and governance scandals that have hit major Japanese businesses in recent years, undermining the country's reputation for quality.

After an in-house probe, Kobe Steel admitted on Sunday it had shipped products that did not meet client specifications, including strength data.

The company said the fabrications, which may have started a decade ago, could affect products sent to as many as 200 companies. It did not name any of the companies.

But the Nikkei newspaper said Toyota and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, producer of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet passenger plane, are among notable clients affected.

Toyota has told the local media that aluminium products from Kobe Steel were used in some car parts. - AFP