TOKYO: Toyota Industries Corp. said Friday that it will increase its certification testing personnel as a key measure to prevent a recurrence of fraudulent engine tests at the Japanese machinery maker.

Specifically, Toyota Industries will raise the number of testing workers 1.6-fold by 2026 from this month’s level, according to a package of preventive measures President Koichi Ito submitted to the transport ministry.

In the package, the affiliate of Toyota Motor Corp. also said it will set standards for appropriate product development schedules so that sufficient time can be spent on certification-related work.

Ito will voluntarily return 30% of his monthly remuneration for six months to take the blame for the scandal. Other executives will return 20% of their pay for three months.

“We failed in the basics, namely compliance with laws and regulations, and caused inconvenience to customers, suppliers and dealers,” Ito told reporters after submitting the package.

He vowed to reform corporate culture to prevent any recurrence.

In a report released in January this year, an in-house special investigation committee cited “unreasonable” product development schedules and a lack of compliance awareness among testing workers as factors that led to the fraudulent tests.

To address the problems, the package included a plan to revise an in-house education program to improve ethics content for engineers.

A new “restart” committee to be headed by the president will regularly check progress in preventive measures. The company will also create a compliance committee including outside experts that will discuss steps to ensure thorough legal compliance.

JIJI Press