Hokkaido Railway Co. on Tuesday announced punitive measures for 75 employees over the failure to fix track defects and falsification of track maintenance data.
The punishment, which includes three-month pay cuts for JR Hokkaido's chairman and president as well as dismissal of five employees, came after the transport ministry instructed the company to remove its managing director as its chief safety officer.
"I would like to apologize deeply for causing worries and troubles," President Makoto Nojima told a news conference in Sapporo.