Japan’s Minister of Economy,Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko arrives at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s official residence in Tokyo, Japan August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
October 26, 2017
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said on Thursday the recent scandals at Kobe Steel <5406.T> and Nissan Motor <7201.T> were “unique problems” and did not represent manufacturers’ stance on corporate governance in his country.
“We’ve continued to undertake reforms on corporate governance and various changes are already taking place. The government hopes to continue promoting steps to enhance corporate governance,” Seko said in a seminar.
Seko made the comments when asked about the scandals, which involve data falsification at Kobe Steel and inspection cheating at Nissan.
Japanese authorities, including Seko’s ministry, are conducting safety checks at Kobe Steel’s plants after revelations of widespread tampering in the specification of its products.
Nissan is also suspending domestic production of vehicles for the Japanese market to address misconduct in its final inspection procedures that has led to a major recall.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
