According to foreign media reports, Mitsubishi Materials claims that its subsidiary’s product data is false, and that part of the latter’s production is also used on aircraft and automobiles, and this counterfeiting activity has been conducted for at least one year. Mitsubishi Materials stated that in a survey on counterfeit scandals concerning the data of Kobe Steel, it was found that the rubber sealing product data produced by Mitsubishi Cable Industries was unrealistic and its rubber sealing products were used in aircraft and automobiles.

Mitsubishi Materials issued a statement on Thursday (2017.11.23) stating that the data was tampered with to meet the standards set by the company or its customers. This counterfeiting can be traced back to April 2015. According to Mitsubishi Materials, Mitsubishi Shindoh, another subsidiary of Mitsubishi Shindoh, tampered with metal products, and this counterfeiting can be traced back to October 2016. Mitsubishi Materials stated that the data modification activities of the two companies have not caused any security problems or legal issues, but it is unclear whether it will affect its financial outlook. Mitsubishi Materials stated that it has established a working group to investigate the issues and formulate countermeasures to improve the quality control procedures.

Previously, the Kobe Steel data fraud scandal affected a wide range and shocked the global supply chain. Mitsubishi Materials holds a 45% stake in a copper joint venture with Kobe Steel, which also includes the Hatano Plant, which is at the center of the data fraud scandal at Kobe Steel. Following the outbreak of the Kobe steel fraud scandal, Nissan and Subaru were also reported to have problems with their final quality inspection procedures. Frequent scandals have hit the good reputation of Japanese manufacturing. On Thursday, the Japanese stock market was closed for the holidays. On Wednesday, Mitsubishi Materials' share price has barely changed. (Image taken from freemalaysiatoday)