Kobe Steel admits falsifying inspection data

Oct 10, 2017 | News On Japan

Oct 10, 2017 (NHK) - Japan's Kobe Steel says it shipped aluminum and copper products with falsified inspection certificates.

The company made the announcement on Sunday at a news conference in Tokyo.

The products are mainly used to make auto and aircraft parts. Kobe Steel officials say they were delivered to about 200 firms, but no safety problems have been reported so far.

The products were shipped in the year through August.

The officials say workers altered data on the strength of the materials.

The size and shape of some of items did not match the requirements in the orders. But the company said no problems were found in the inspections.

In some cases, they were checked only once, even though multiple inspections were required.

The officials say they have confirmed that the falsification took place at 4 plants in Japan, including a Kobe Steel subsidiary. They say the problem affects 19,300 tons of aluminum and 2,200 tons of copper products, or about 4 percent of the firm's annual output of these items.

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