93 Certification Fraud Cases Found at Panasonic Unit

Tokyo, Nov. 1 (Jiji Press)--Panasonic Industry Co. said Friday that its external investigation panel has confirmed 93 cases of certification fraud involving electronic and other parts produced at a total of 40 plants in and outside Japan.

The cases include those in which its president, Shinji Sakamoto, covered up the misconduct, according to the panel's report released by the Panasonic Holdings Corp. unit.

In response to the findings, Sakamoto and Panasonic Holdings President Yuki Kusumi will return half of their monthly remuneration for four months.

At a press conference on Friday, Sakamoto apologized, saying, "The biggest factors (behind the cases) were the management's poor awareness of quality assurance and lack of understanding of field-level operations."

In January, Panasonic Industry announced that it had fraudulently received certifications for electronic parts from a U.S. third-party organization. It then set up the investigation panel.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]