Executives from 12 major domestic automakers and 17 vehicle importers were summoned to the Transport Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday and ordered to report on how they operate their recall systems for defective products.
During the one-hour meeting, the ministry ordered the companies to submit documents on the names of internal organizations that are in charge of handling recalls, names of individuals who would be held responsible for recalls and recall-handling processes, as well as how information on defective products would be reported to top management, ministry officials said.
The ministry also reminded them that if false reports on recall services are uncovered, the company would be punished for violating the Road Vehicles Law.
The ministry wants the firms to submit reports in one or two months, the officials said.
The executives were summoned in the wake of an information-concealment scandal involving Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which has admitted hiding documents on complaints from inspection authorities for at least 23 years.
Shinya Izumi, senior state secretary of transport, expressed strong indignation in front of the executives over the Mitsubishi coverup.
"The case, which is extremely regrettable, means the auto firm made a fool of the ministry," he said.