The internal probe into a major affiliate of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp revealed Hino faked emissions data for ten years longer than previously indicated.
The investigative committee – composed of lawyers and a corporate adviser – blamed the scandal on an environment where engineers did not feel able to challenge superiors.
The lack of "psychological safety" and fear that they would not be able to meet strict targets led engine-developing teams to feel so pressured they falsified test results, the investigation's report revealed. This led to further deception, as workers covered up their wrongdoing, stretching over a 20-year-period.
"The magnitude of their past successes has made them unable to change or look at themselves objectively, and they have been unaware of changes in the external environment and values," said committee chairperson Kazuo Sakakibara, former head prosecutor at the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office....