Kobe Steel's data fabrication affects Toyota, M'bishi Regional Jet

Japanese corporate culture has transcended from top quality control to cheat until caught. It isn't the assembly line workers but top management ordering the cheating down the line. This is further compounded by the ringisho managment system made famous by the indecisive response over the Fukushima nuclear melt down. For when a major scandal is discovered by corporate outsiders, these companies go into lock down for months. Never mind harming the general public or corporate customers, keeping the heads way down in kowtowing an apology seems to be the end goal. It's a cleansing ceremony intended to make a new start, but companies like Mitsubishi and Toshiba make it an annual ritual.

According to the article, we don't know how many companies and products are affected because KS has only said "about 200". We don't know whether it was systematic or occasional. We don't know whether people flying in affected airplanes or driving affected cars are safe. No mention of whether Toyota/MHI customers do any spot checks on the quality of the products they are buying.

But it's not unreasonable to consider that this could lead to structural defects with life-threatening implications, and as such, more immediately dangerous than VW's dieselgate.

Kobe Steel said it recognized the data fabrication in late August, but did not make it public until told to do so by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry.

Let's just read that again shall we, to let it sink in.

Would we ever have known if a regulatory body had not forced disclosure?

A corporate manslaughter law is needed in Japan. Board members should be liable for jail time if people die as a result of corporate actions. It would concentrate the minds of those company directors who say they're not aware, or not responsible, or seek to avoid or delay disclosure. Better corporate behaviour would soon follow.

Just another day for Japan Inc where data fabrication, data falsification, corruption and sloopy management is just part of the Japanese buisiness culture.

I have been living in Japan for fifteen years and I have been seeing countless similar things involving Japanese companies.

This is the sort of B/S you expect to hear about China manufacturing, not Japan. 10 years of faking data, where is the QC? Where is the management oversight? Heads in high places need to roll because this is an endemic failure of management.

What if it was learned that the inspection data for the metal used to built Tokyo SkyTree was faked? And there are recent stories about metal plates falling off airplanes. It sounds like companies are trying to save money where they shouldn't.

And once again...

Fair point but they'd have to be very careful about adding the Nissan scandal to this article which shows Toyota and MRJ to be victims rather than offenders. As it's an unrelated offense it's probably safer to not mention it.

No mention of Nissan, which is odd, since it's also embroiled a faked inspection scandal now, by Kyodo, a Japanese news service.

Kobe Steel said it recognized the data fabrication in late August, but did not make it public until told to do so by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry.

Data fabrication involving its group stainless steel products was revealed last year.

Prosecutions are in order, I'd say.