Mitsubishi Electric president to step down, apologizes over fake test data

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Takeshi Sugiyama apologized for causing trouble and will resign to take responsibility for test data falsifications on equipment supplied to railway firms that may date back over 30 years.

Sugiyama, who held a news conference to make the announcements, added that the company will investigate the deception by a committee headed by an outside lawyer and would reveal the results and measures to prevent a recurrence in September.

Mitsubishi Electric officials admitted faking testing data on air conditioning units and pneumatic devices used in braking systems and doors that were supplied to the train companies.

Both products are manufactured at the company's plant in Togitsu, Nagasaki Prefecture.

The company did not follow specifications by railway companies on several test items, including capability.

It also created fake data and included it in test reports. The practice may have begun around 1985.

The company also created a computer program to crank out fake test data on the equipment that is supplied to give the appearance that tests were done.