Japanese Government Demands Drastic Reforms at Toyota, Why?

Toyota's new Tokyo headquarters will open in Shinagawa in 2030. (Doc. Toyota Global)

JAKARTA – The world's largest car manufacturer Toyota has been asked by the Japanese government to make major reforms to its manufacturing plant following the revelation of a vehicle certification scandal.

It was reported in June that Toyota and four other vehicle manufacturers admitted to submitting flawed or manipulated data when applying for vehicle certification. This investigation was carried out after the Japanese Ministry of Transport ordered an examination of certification practices across the automotive industry following a safety test scandal at the compact car unit of Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Toyota.

Toyota has admitted to errors in certification applications for several car models, including the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio, and Yaris Cross. In addition, several models that are no longer in production were also involved in this scandal.

Reporting from Reuters, August 1, the Japanese government on Wednesday, July 31, ordered the world's largest automotive company to make drastic reforms.

As a result of an in-depth inspection conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Transport which found serious violations in vehicle certification procedures on seven additional car models that were previously unrevealed. The government called this action a deliberate and widespread fraud.

Of the seven additional models found to have the problem, four are still in production: the Noah, Voxy, RAV4, Harrier, and Lexus LM. The other three models are no longer in production. The Japanese government has also informed authorities in other countries about the issue, as some of the affected models are also marketed overseas.

Toyota acknowledged the government’s corrective order and vowed to make major reforms to its vehicle certification operations. However, the company stressed that consumers need not worry and can continue to use the affected vehicles.

Meanwhile, in the Toyota Global release, July 31, it was stated that through a series of suggestions and internal investigations, Toyota believes that this incident was caused by factors at the location and management.

"We will review the structure and system to carry out proper certification operations, clarify once again the responsibilities and authorities of the certification process, and continue to improve our infrastructure, including accurate data management. We will immediately formulate these steps to prevent a recurrence and report them to the MLIT," wrote Toyota's statement.

This scandal is certainly a big blow to Toyota's reputation as a trusted car manufacturer. The reform steps that will be taken by Toyota are attracting the world's attention to see the company's seriousness in improving the system and preventing similar incidents from happening again.