TOKYO -- With Nissan Motor under fire for inappropriate vehicle inspections in Japan, automakers in the country are checking their own systems in response to a government directive.
The transport ministry has asked carmakers to furnish a report of their findings by the end of this month. The ministry is not aware of other violations, but is stepping up scrutiny to ease consumer skepticism.
The inspection in question happens at the very end of the manufacturing process, with only qualified workers allowed to conduct it under law. At Nissan, the qualification can be obtained after at least three months of training. But probes by the ministry found that employees with just a month of training had carried out inspections in some cases.
Toyota Motor has periodically checked to make sure that only qualified workers are conducting inspections, never finding a problem, the company says. But it is now checking the status at all of its plants.
Honda Motor also says there is no problem with inspections at its plants, with only qualified workers doing the work. The company will check its records to confirm that past inspections were carried out appropriately.
Mitsubishi Motors, which joined the Nissan group after a 2016 fuel-economy scandal, is also looking into its inspection practices, as are Subaru and Mazda Motor.
(Nikkei)
