TOKYO, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government has tasked industrial standards-approved bodies to carry out inspections at Kobe Steel Ltd.'s plants in an effort to deal with the company's wide-reaching falsified inspection data scandal, a senior official said Tuesday.
"We will keep an eye on the result of the review," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko told a news conference on the matter with reference to one of the beleaguered firm's plants close to Tokyo.
He added that Kobe Steel should, itself, set up its own objective measures to ensure industry standards are kept, warning that if standards aren't maintained then a certification organization will have the authority to withdraw its certificate and halt shipments of Kobe Steel products.
Keiichi Ishii, minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, told a separate news briefing that inspections had begun at plants in Japan.
"Japan is primarily responsible for the safety of domestically produced aircraft," Ishii said, with reference to a plant in Mie Prefecture that produces aluminum used in the Mitsubishi Regional Jet passenger jet.
"We will take all possible measures to assure product quality in mass production," Ishii said, adding that data obtained from Kobe Steel will be verified by the government.
Kobe Steel Ltd. had initially admitted to falsifying inspection data on a number of its products, including aluminum, copper, steel powder and special steel products.
It also came to light late last week that the steel maker's own investigations revealed cover-ups and more incidents of data falsification.
Companies ranging from automakers and airplane manufacturers, to defense equipment and Shinkansen bullet train makers, have been affected by the scandal.
