Document falsifications for vehicle checks widespread at Nissan

October 4, 2017

TOKYO- Documents on final inspections of finished vehicles have been falsified widely at domestic plants of Japan's Nissan Motor Co. in attempts to make it look as if such checks were conducted by certified employees when they were carried out by unqualified workers, it was learned Wednesday.Such documents were even signed off under the names of certified workers, the sources said.

Nissan's management team is seen coming under fire as the vehicle inspection scandal revealed the automaker's lax internal control system, pundits said.

The vehicle checks by unqualified employees came to light during the transport ministry's unannounced on-site inspection of the company on Sept. 18.

Assistant technicians not certified by the company were found to have been involved almost regularly in Nissan's final vehicle inspections, equivalent to the first mandatory checks of new vehicles, at all domestic Nissan group plants.

On Tuesday, the transport ministry inspected Nissan vehicle plants in Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, and the western prefecture of Kyoto.

Nissan is investigating details of the inspection scandal. The probe is being joined by outside experts including a lawyer.

Nissan President Hiroto Saikawa has denied any involvement by the company's management team in the wrongdoing, saying, "I was totally unaware of the practice." Jiji Press