By Sam Nussey and Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Materials Corp (5711.T) on Friday said it was racing to determine the impact of falsified data of products shipped to over 200 customers at home and abroad, in the latest quality assurance and compliance scandal involving a Japanese manufacturer.
Mitsubishi Materials on Thursday said three subsidiaries manipulated inspection data of parts used in aircraft, automobiles and industrial machinery. Its shares dropped as much as 11 percent the following day, hitting their lowest price since August.
The admission follows a spate of compliance failings at Japanese manufacturers including Kobe Steel Ltd , Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Subaru Co Ltd (9778.T) which threatens to shatter the country's reputation as a maker of high-quality products.
At a briefing on Friday, Mitsubishi Materials faced questions over its corporate management after admitting data falsification at Mitsubishi Cable Industries Ltd [MTCBL.UL] was discovered as far back as February, with the subsidiary shipping products with possibly falsified data even after wrongdoing was detected.
"Making an announcement without pinning down the problem would have caused further disruption and trouble," Mitsubishi Cable President Hiroaki Murata told reporters.
The data falsification scandal is the second in as many years to hit a member of the Mitsubishi group, Japan's biggest conglomerate, after Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) admitted it had falsified mileage readings on some of its vehicles.
Mitsubishi Materials said customers in Japan, the United States, China and Taiwan may have received affected products. It said an internal investigation will determine the causes of wrongdoing and scope of the matter.
"My responsibility is to bring countermeasures across the whole company based on the results of the investigation," said Mitsubishi Materials President Akira Takeuchi, in response to questions about whether he would resign over the matter.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko earlier on Friday called the latest scandal "a betrayal of trust in Japanese manufacturing," pointing to the amount of time Mitsubishi Materials took to reveal the wrongdoing.
The company said Mitsubishi Cable distorted data on as much as 20 percent of its rubber sealing products, used in aircraft and cars, for two-and-a-half years from April 2015. Of 229 potentially affected customers, 40 have been informed.
Another subsidiary, Mitsubishi Shindoh Co Ltd, manipulated data for metal products, used in cars and electronics, as far back as October 2016. Around half of 29 potentially affected customers have been informed.