In Japan, A Growing Scandal Over Companies Faking Product-Quality Data
Posted: 2017-12-6
A Japanese maker of materials used in airplanes and car parts has admitted that one of its subsidiaries falsified quality-assurance data, the latest in a string of Japanese industrial giants to mislead customers. Toray Industries said Tuesday that it had identified 149 instances of altered data between 2008 and 2016. The products involved affected 13 customers and included cords used for tires and car hose belts.
The company said in a statement that its Toray Hybrid Cord unit "has inappropriately overwritten data that was provided in inspection reports to customers."
The customers affected weren't named, but the company said later that the deception didn't involve materials supplied to Boeing. Toray provides the U.S. aircraft manufacturer with lightweight carbon-fiber components.
"There were no legal violations or safety problems; this was between us and our customers, and so there was no need to disclose it," Toray President Akihiro Nikkaku told a news conference, according to Reuters.
Read the full article at NPR.
