THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 13, 2023 at 15:59 JST
Bigmotor Co.’s 12 repair shops will no longer be authorized to carry out the nation’s mandatory vehicle safety tests. (Shinya Wake)
The transport ministry is finalizing penalties against scandal-ridden used car dealer Bigmotor Co., including stripping its 12 repair shops of the license to carry out compulsory vehicle safety inspections.
Thirty-four Bigmotor repair shops nationwide will be ordered to suspend operations for 10 to 90 days, Tetsuo Saito, the transport minister, said on Oct. 13.
“It is deeply regrettable that the company committed such serious violations of the law that it deserves the most severe penalty: the stripping of the license,” Saito said.
Bigmotor will be allowed to defend itself at a hearing possibly this month before the penalties are officially announced.
The ministry conducted surprise inspections at the 34 service garages in 24 prefectures in July after the company’s auto mechanics were found to have deliberately damaged cars to pad repair bills.
Investigators found that the workers struck vehicles with a golf ball in a sock and scratched them with a screwdriver before passing the inflated costs to insurance companies.
The 12 service garages that engaged in the most serious misconduct will face the harshest punishment.
They will be banned from conducting safety inspections required for all road vehicles every two years.
(This article was compiled from reports by staff writers Eishi Kado and Go Takahashi.)
Sompo Japan failed to dig into Bigmotor scam allegations
July 25, 2023
Report: Bigmotor workers dinged, dented autos in insurance scam
July 19, 2023
Bigmotor chief resigns over car repair insurance scam
July 25, 2023
Banks reject Bigmotor’s refinancing plea after scandal
August 17, 2023
New Bigmotor allegations: local trees poisoned, neurotic cleaning
July 28, 2023
EDITORIAL: The undoing of BigMotor’s car crash way of doing business
July 26, 2023
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
