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© KYODOKobe Steel's falsified aluminum data affects more companies
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TumbleDry
Maaa... Apologize, deep regrets, conduct internal investigation and in the worst case rename the company.
Nothing to see here...
TumbleDry
Not being in the crime section reflects that too...
Haaa Nemui
Heads need to roll for this.
blahblah222
Well Kobe Steel stock price is actually heading up, so I guess no one really expects any repercussions for this.
hakuba
I think we are at a tipping point for "Made in Japan" credibility. Airbags, steel, Mitsubishi cars, Tepco, Black companies, death by overwork, Olympus - I could produce a huge list of problem Japanese businesses. In recent months I have bought new products from Sony and Daikin that were made in Japan and failed in the first couple of months of service.
I have always been a bit suspicious of this credo that Japanese products were made to a higher standard. Toyota deserves its accolades but these days, I can't think of many other companies that are much different from European/US/Asian firms. There may have been a period during the seventies, but I think its now long gone.
papigiulio
Another one to add to the looooooooong list of companies fabricating data.
roughneck
I am wondering if it is noise for noise sake or the steel quality is really bad. I haven't heard any accident related to this so far.
kurisupisu
I was thinking of buying another Subaru but no longer.....
Haaa Nemui
Agree, but the situation still needs to be fully investigated and rectified. The companies caught up in this will be affected hugely by public opinion on how they handle the situation... This is all because of the actions of one company. A company that falsifies documentation can not be considered a reliable company... I hope the others can come out of this OK.
Civitas Sine Suffragio
There needs to be some serious punishment meted out for this - I suggest a 10% pay cut for all execs for 2 months. That'll do it.
HenryK
They'll pay dearly if there are any of their defective products are in the US. Another Takada.
Scrote
The levels of dishonesty in the Japanese corporate world never cease to amaze. This is the kind of behaviour you might expect from a Chinese company. Next they will be telling us that the steel used to make nuclear containment vessels wasn't as strong as they claimed, wasn't checked properly, all very regrettable etc.
wildwest
US global power, along with Japanese quality and trust decline seems to be leaving the door wide open for China to level the playing filed, at least it seems to be sinking at one end, perhaps for the reason of budget deficits and price competition.
PTownsend
W. Edwards Deming is rolling in his grave. Akio Morita ( I want to think he actually believed in quality control), too.
Brian Wheway
Why do companies have to falsify data records? why can't they get it right in the first place? this is crazy, can't these guys get the notion that its going to be discovered and come back and bite them on the bum, like now. I just can see the law suits pilling up out side Kobe steels door right now. and also its not doing Japans image any good, for ages we all know that most products that come japan are of very high quality and reliability,
kiwiboy
Everything Japan offers the world in terms of technology, gadgets, cars etc, South Korea or China are also producing. South Korea and China provide amazing products for a cheaper price and with better English support and better worldwide marketing. In some cases (smartphones) their products are better than Japan's.
The only thing that keeps Japan's comparatively expensive products attractive is the [perceived] superior quality. How many more scandals like this can Japan's reputation take before any remnants of trust in that perception are lost? Not many more I'd say! That'll be a sad day for Japan with very real financial consequences too!
The salt in the wound is that even when these scandals come to light nothing happens. Apologies, yes, but that's not enough. These companies should be destroyed and executives heavily fined or jailed. It's the only way to stop it happening again.
Every Japanese person should be ashamed and outraged by this because it's Japan's reputation and economy that will suffer!
karlrb
This is Really bad news for Japan. Credibility matters!
Bob Sneider
"japanese quality" was built on lies. this is the end of japan. they are on the same level as chinese products. at this point, we can conclude with certainty that this is a issue with japanese culture, and we will see the same thing with every japanese company
MarkX
While I agree with many of you, this lying does nothing but damage your company, I feel for these Japanese companies trying to compete with Chinese companies that don’t care about environmental concerns, who produce lower quality materials and undercut all competitors, who pay a fraction to their workers. So of course these Japanese companies are trying to compete, and they feel that they must lie when they are not able to reach the standards they have set for themselves.
Ah_so
In Abe Kobo's 1962 novel "Woman in the Dunes" (and excellent movie - free on youtube), there is a scene were it is revealed that villagers had been selling their sub-standard sand to concrete manufacturers, which would make the buildings unsafe and prone to collapse. The "Woman" is not concerned by the outsider's shock.
“Why should we worry what happens to other people?”
The implication is that this is a burakumin village, but it seems to be a more widespread outlook in Japan.