Machinery Maker Kubota Admits Data Falsification

September 13, 2018

Osaka- Japanese machinery maker Kubota Corp. said Wednesday that it submitted falsified inspection documents for metal-processing equipment parts to client companies.

The misconduct affected 4,398 of the 21,035 rolling mill rolls manufactured at a plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, and shipped between October 2013 and July this year. The affected products were shipped to a total of 85 Japanese and foreign steelmakers.

"We sincerely apologize for causing much anxiety and inconvenience," President Masatoshi Kimata told a press conference in the western Japan city of Osaka.

Kubota holds around 35 pct of the domestic market for rolling mill rolls, used in equipment to produce steel plates and usually replaced every half year to two years. In fiscal 2017. Kubota posted 4.4 billion yen in sales of rolling mill rolls.

According to the company, inspection results that deviated from specifications in contracts with clients were altered with fabricated figures. In one case, a microscope image of metal texture was replaced with a faked one.

Kubota said it detected the misconduct following a whistle-blowing report from a company worker on July 25 this year.

The company said the scandal has not affected production at its clients.

Kubota has commissioned a law firm to investigate the misconduct. The company will consider internal punishments based on the results of the investigation, which is expected to take around two months. Jiji Press