Business
12:53, 28-Nov-2017
Toray latest Japanese firm confessing to data fabrication
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Japanese materials giant Toray Industries on Tuesday admitted to falsifying data for product tests for eight years, adding another name to the list of big firms guilty of compliance failings in Japan.
The company stated that a tire parts subsidiary, Toray Hybrid Cord Inc., had fabricated data in 149 cases and sold parts that did not satisfy client requirements to 13 companies, The Japan Times reported.
However, the fibers, textiles, plastics and composite materials maker said it had not detected any violation of the law or safety issues stemming from the incidents, which occurred between 2008 and 2016.
"I’m profoundly sorry for causing so much trouble," Toray President Akihiro Nikkaku told a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday morning.
The incidents came to light in July 2016, after which the company took countermeasures against quality control issues, and no further cases took place after August 2016, Toray claimed.
Its shares plummeted 8.5 percent in early trading, but regained some of the lost territory after the press conference to be only five percent down by the noon break.
The revelation follows a spate of compliance failings at Japanese manufacturers including Kobe Steel Ltd., Nissan Motor Co Ltd., Subaru Co Ltd. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp., further tainting Japan's reputation for meticulous craftsmanship and high industrial standards.
(With inputs from agencies)