Photo/Illutration A Daihatsu Motor Co. dealership in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Daihatsu Motor Co. is embroiled in a crippling malfeasance scandal that shows how the automaker had shortchanged the automotive certification process underpinning automotive safety and has forced the company to halt shipments of all models.

Daihatsu’s safety testing scandal has raised many serious questions about the responsibility of the company’s management, which has been criticized for allowing widespread falsifications of test results. The revelations have also called into question the group management of Toyota Motor Corp., Daihatsu’s parent company.

An investigation by a third-party committee consisting of external lawyers and other experts found that the fraud's scope has expanded to implicate a total of 64 car models, up from six as of this spring.

The company has falsified the results of 25 types of tests in such ways as data fabrication and alteration, as well as tampering with vehicles and testing equipment.

Many cases involved cheating on tests to verify performances critical in protecting drivers and passengers in emergencies, such as air bag deployment. In a nutshell, the company engaged in extremely malicious fraud.

Although Daihatsu claims to have confirmed the safety of the affected vehicles in retests, it is imperative for the company to take every necessary step to ensure the safety of customers.

Furthermore, the automaker needs to identify the factors behind the misconduct and implement measures to prevent a recurrence.

According to the investigation report, the fraud began more than 30 years ago. The number of cases increased markedly after 2014, and the deceptive practices continued into this year.

In the automotive industry, Mitsubishi Motors' fuel efficiency test fraud came to light in 2016, causing a public outcry. It is surprising that such a serious ethical breach has continued in the industry even after that.

The transport ministry should deal with the matter in a rigorous and stringent manner.

The third-party committee pointed out that the main factor behind the dishonesty fiasco was the shortening of car development periods pursued by the management team to increase profits.

The panel argued that the pressure from the overly tight and inflexible development schedule was concentrated on the department responsible for certification testing, leading to the misconduct. The committee concluded, “The management, not the front-line workers, should be blamed.”

It was also pointed out that Daihatsu, while working on curtailing development periods, significantly pared down the staff in the department responsible for certification testing. Why the management failed to foresee the resulting strain is a critical question.

The management team should clarify its responsibility for this integrity crisis.

The increase in cases of deceptive acts after 2014 coincides with the period when Toyota expanded its production outsourcing to Daihatsu.

Toyota Executive Vice President Hiroki Nakajima acknowledged at a joint news conference with Daihatsu, “We were not aware that we might have significantly increased the burden on (Daihatsu’s) development and certification teams. We at Toyota regret this failure.”

The misconduct is related to Toyota's management strategy, and the auto giant bears a heavy responsibility for the subsidiary’s regulatory noncompliance.

However, Toyota's two top executives, President Koji Sato and Chairman Akio Toyoda, did not show up to face the media. Following Daihatsu's disclosure of the misconduct this spring, Toyota’s management pledged to make all-out efforts to root out the cause and regain trust as a group.

Toyota’s top executives can convey their commitment to tackling the problem only by apologizing and explaining their plans to eradicate misconduct in their own words to the anxious buyers.

They need to recognize that.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 22