Nidek certifies 844 cases of quality fraud due to concentration of authority in Nagamori

On the 4th, major motor company Nidek (formerly Nidec Corporation, Kyoto City) released the investigation report of its investigation committee regarding quality issues. The investigation committee found that there were 844 cases of inappropriate conduct, such as changing the manufacturing process without permission. The company pointed out that management that concentrated authority in the hands of founder Shigenobu Nagamori and performance targets that did not match his ability were behind the series of quality-related misconduct.

More than 90% of cases of inappropriate behavior involved changes to parts or processes without customer approval. There were also cases of falsification and fabrication of tests and test results. Looking at the seriousness of the incidents, 60 serious acts were identified that involved Nidek Group executives or site managers, suspected legal violations, or posed a high risk to safety.

As for the cause, it was pointed out that as business scale rapidly expanded through M&A (corporate mergers and acquisitions), management authority was concentrated in Mr. Nagamori, and he was strongly required to achieve short-term performance targets and reduce costs, creating an ``unhealthy state'' that allowed inappropriate conduct.