Japan’s third-largest steelmaker Kobe Steel will cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice after it announced strength certifications on its metals products have been routinely falsified to appease standards boards.
Kobe last week announced as many as 500 companies around the world may have been impacted by the scandal, which has reportedly seen questionable materials going into construction steel, cars, aeroplanes and high speed trains.
Japan is a major buyer of Australian iron ore, a key component in the steelmaking process.
Kobe Steel, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, initially admitted to falsifying data regarding the strength and durability of some of its copper and aluminium, but has since confessed to producing similar fake data about its iron ore powder and other materials.
“The company deeply regrets this incident and sincerely apologizes for the enormous worry and trouble this incident has caused to its customers and other related parties,” the company said.
“Causing this serious matter has brought overwhelming shame to the company.”
Kobe says it has begun contacting its customers, one by one, to explain the situation and help carry out technical verifications to survey the impact of the potentially flawed products.