Japan - September 22, 2024

Tokyo, Japan - Recent

At least five rail transit companies in Japan have been found to have falsified data during an urgent investigation demanded by the transport ministry following the disclosure of data tampering by the country's largest railway operator.

The collective fraud represents the latest blow to the reputation of Japanese companies, which have been embroiled in a series of regulatory scandals in recent months, including in automobile manufacturing and health supplements.

Last Friday, the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) admitted that it had for years concealed data falsification related to the process of fitting wheels to axles.

From 2008 to 2017, the embedding pressure of around 4,900 axles was not within the standard range. Among them, the test data about 1,200 axles were arbitrarily modified to meet regulatory requirements, according to JR East.

The company said that the axles with data exceeding the standard range have been replaced, while the axles with data below the standard range have no safety issues and 76 of them are still in use.

Regarding the scandal, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan has decided to carry out a special security investigation into JR East.

It has also asked all rail transit companies in Japan to conduct urgent inspections and submit reports by the end of this month. So far, five of them have been found to have data falsification cases, including a train maintenance subsidiary of Tokyo Metro.

Shotlist:
Tokyo, Japan - Recent:
1. Office buildings;
2. Sign of East Japan Railway Company (JR East);
3. Office buildings;
4. Sign of Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight);
5. Train axles on ground;
6. Trains, workers;
7. Sign of JR East on train;
8. Various of subway trains moving;
9. Various of pedestrians;
10. Entrance to subway station;
11. Passengers at subway station;
12. Various of subway trains moving.

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