Mitsubishi said it had shipped products with falsified inspection data to more than 250 customers. In misrepresenting its products’ quality, Mitsubishi Materials was engaging in a deception similar to that practiced for at least a decade at Kobe Steel. In Mitsubishi’s case, one Mitsubishi Materials subsidiary, Mitsubishi Cable Industries, changed inspection data for rubber sealing products used in aircraft and cars, Mitsubishi Materials said. Mitsubishi Materials is part of the loosely affiliated Mitsubishi family of companies, with roots in one of Japan’s most powerful prewar industrial conglomerates. Today, various Mitsubishi businesses — others include Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi Electric and the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group — operate independently of one another, but the Mitsubishi brand remains one of the most prestigious in Japan.

Source: New York Times November 24, 2017 08:37 UTC