Subaru has admitted it carried out flawed final inspections on its vehicles, for three decades, as Japanese industry struggles to overcome wave after wave of corporate scandals.
Subaru's chief executive and president Yasuyuki Yoshinaga bowed deeply as he apologised after internal audits found unqualified personnel implemented flawed final inspection methods at its domestic plants for 30 years.
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The company was meeting government officials on Monday ahead of a likely recall of around 255,000 Subaru cars sold in Japan.
Last month the Japanese government ordered all carmakers to check their inspection processes after Nissan Motor was found to have used unqualified staff for vehicle inspections at six of its domestic plants – prompting the recall of over 1m vehicles.
Earlier this month Kobe Steel revealed its staff had falsified inspections certificates on aluminium and copper products at its domestic plants over a prolonged period, affecting a wide range of industry sectors including major global automakers.
Yoshinaga said a thorough review of the entire inspection system was needed throughout the company's operations.
