Mitsubishi Materials faked quality data

Mitsubishi Materials Corp., a maker of components used to make autos, aircraft and electricity generation equipment, apologised yesterday for faked quality data by some of its subsidiaries.

Executives of the company bowed before reporters as they reported on the problem, which was announced on Thursday during a public holiday.

The company’s share price plunged 11 per cent, ending the day down more than 8 per cent yesterday.

Similar troubles with faked or unauthorised inspections have tarnished the image of other major manufacturers such as Nissan Motor Co., Subaru Corp. and Kobe Steel.

The repeated disclosures of such practices by some of Japan’s most respected companies have prompted automakers, aircraft manufacturers and other customers to conduct their own investigations to ensure safety had not been compromised.

“We will make every effort to prevent this from happening again and to improve our internal controls, comply with the law and win back our customers’ trust,” Akira Takeuchi, Mitsubishi Materials’ CEO said.

The company, which submitted a report to the government yesterday, said three of its subsidiaries faked data on products to meet specifications. It said Mitsubishi Cable faked data on O-ring sealing products used on metal parts such as pipe fittings. Mitsubishi Shindoh Co. fiddled with data on copper products, it said. Similar problems were found at Mitsubishi Aluminum Co., it said.