Just wishful thinking that Japanese firms never let customers down

MORE COMPANIES HAVE said that they have used problematic aluminum products supplied by Kobe Steel, Japan's third-largest steelmaker, which confessed last week to a decade-long data fabrication of some aluminum and copper products. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Top automakers including Toyota and Nissan, defense contractors Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and even Japan's bullet trains, may have used Kobe Steel's problematic aluminum products.

Kobe Steel has attempted to convince customers that only some of its products were subject to data fabrication and these still meet safety standards.