OSAKA (Kyodo) West Japan Railway Co. on Saturday apologized to survivors and relatives of people who died in the 2005 derailment in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, for secretly acquiring a government report on the accident and manipulating it.
"We have caused deep distrust. We deeply apologize for violating compliance rules and acting improperly," Takayuki Sasaki, president of the railway operator, told a meeting with about 170 survivors and bereaved relatives in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture.
Sasaki and other executives of the railroad explained how former President Masao Yamazaki obtained a draft of the then confidential report from a governmental railway accident investigation panel.