Kobe Steel's scandal is a blow to 'Made-in-Japan'

Fabrications could affect products sent to as many as 200 companies

TOKYO - More companies have said that they had used problematic aluminum products supplied by Kobe Steel, the third largest steel-maker in Japan, which admitted last week to yearslong data-fabrication.

The scandal, the most recent in a series to hit Japanese manufacturers, threatens to further damage the reputation of "Made-in-Japan", said local reports.

Kobe Steel said on Sunday that some of its aluminum and copper products were subjected to data fabrication, and the misconduct started as early as 10 years ago.

The company said it has inspected products shipped over the past year and found data on about 19,300 tons of aluminum products, 2,200 tons of copper products and 19,400 pieces of aluminum forging and casting products had been fabricated.

It said that inspection data on the products, including those on strength and duration of the materials, were rewritten by workers who were "under pressure" to meet a deadline when the actual data failed to meet customer specifications.

The products in question have been shipped to about 200 companies, and though Kobe Steel did not disclose the names of those affected, a wide range of companies have been found using the problematic products in cars, trains and even rockets and defense equipment.

Top Japanese automakers said on Wednesday they were scrambling to assess their vehicles that used products from Kobe Steel.

Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi Motor, Subaru and Mazda joined aviation firms and defense contractors Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and IHI that have used the steelmaker's products.

Japan's "Shinkansen" bullet trains also used Kobe Steel's aluminum, as did high-speed trains in the United Kingdom, according to engineering firm Hitachi.

"Products used (for both Japanese and British trains) met safety standards. But they did not meet the specifications that were agreed between us and Kobe Steel," a Hitachi spokesman said.

The problematic products were also reportedly used in the Mitsubishi Regional Jet passenger planes, which are intended to be Japan's first domestically developed jet airliner.

Safety hazards

The Defense Ministry said that it was also possible that the products had also been used in equipment being used to train the Self-Defense Forces.

Though currently no safety problems have been confirmed associated with the products in question yet, there have been concerns that they might pose safety hazards.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said that it has ordered automakers to find out whether they had used the products in question.

It said that no nuclear power plant has used the products.

The scandal was the most recent in a series of problems involving Japanese manufacturers, with Nissan Motor saying last week that it will recall more than 1.2 million vehicles which had undergone flawed safety inspections.

"It's a severe situation for Japan's manufacturing industry," said Sadayuki Sakakibara, chairman of the Japan Business Federation.

"It's so regrettable that such things happened to companies that represent (the image of) Japan," he said, adding that manufacturers in question should find out the cause of such misconducts and make sure they never happen again.

Xinhua - AFP