Published

Kobe Steel Indicted for Decades of Falsified Quality Data

Kobe Steel Ltd. has been indicted in Tokyo on charges of falsifying quality reports on its metal products for decades.
#legal

Share

Kobe Steel Ltd. has been indicted in Tokyo on charges of falsifying quality reports on its metal products for decades.

Prosecutors say the 113-year-old Japanese company, also known as Kobelco, fabricated performance data to conform with client specifications. The then shipped the aluminum, copper and steel products to more than 600 customers worldwide. The group included Toyota Motor Corp. and several other carmakers.

The indictment says the cheating was conducted by more than 40 employees at factories in Mie, Tochigi and Yamaguchi prefectures. Sources tell China’s state-owned Xinhua News Agency that two employees known for repeatedly falsifying quality data eventually became members of Kobe’s board.

The company has admitted it sent bogus quality assurance certificates to clients between September 2016 and September 2017. But the company also acknowledges that falsifying such data has been endemic in the company since the 1970s.

RELATED CONTENT

  • Cobots: 14 Things You Need to Know

    What jobs do cobots do well? How is a cobot programmed? What’s the ROI? We asked these questions and more to four of the leading suppliers of cobots. 

  • Ford Simulates Gravity

    Although virtual development tools are being used more and more, there are still some things that are done in the real world.

  • Robotic Exoskeleton Amplifies Human Strength

    The Sarcos Guardian XO Max full-body, all-electric exoskeleton features strength amplification of up to 20 to 1, making 200 pounds—the suit’s upper limit—feel like 10 pounds for the user.

Gardner Business Media - Strategic Business Solutions