Daihatsu’s offices have been raided by the government after a safety scandal forced the Toyota subsidiary to suspend all car shipments indefinitely.
The transport ministry’s on-site inspection of Daihatsu’s Osaka headquarters Thursday morning followed revelations that the carmaker and supplier had manipulated the results of various collision-safety tests dating as far back as 1989.
Daihatsu supplies cars and parts to a number of major brands, including Toyota, Mazda and Subaru, and this could cause the scandal to ripple through the rest of Japan’s automotive industry. For Toyota, rebuilding trust in its oversight will be a challenge, as this is the second time one of its major affiliates has been caught red-handed. Hino Motor admitted to falsifying data last year.