Defense Ministry Suspends Kawasaki Heavy from Bidding

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Defense Ministry said Friday that it has decided to suspend Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. from bidding on its projects for two and a half months until March 11, citing data falsifications.

According to the ministry, Kawasaki Heavy falsified data on the fuel efficiency of submarine engines it manufactured between 1988 and 20211 for the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

All 24 submarines currently held by the MSDF are equipped with Kawasaki Heavy engines, and 23 of them, excluding the one delivered most recently, have engines affected by the data falsifications.

The company is said to have manipulated data to meet the ministry's requirements in the trial of assembled engines.

The ministry said that the data falsifications did not affect the safety or performance of MSDF submarines.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]