The Transport Ministry will launch investigations after directly gathering information from users on defective motor vehicles, Vice Transport Minister Hisashi Umezaki said Thursday.
The ministry's move has been prompted by the recent coverup scandal involving Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which allegedly concealed complaints concerning defective vehicles, Umezaki said.
"The incident was deplorable and I am sorry it happened," Umezaki said, adding his ministry is expected to decide on punishment for the automobile firm as early as the end of August.
On July 18, Transport Ministry officials said they had investigated the head office earlier in the month on suspicion that Mitsubishi Motors had failed to report the complaints during a regular inspection in November last year.
The authorities made the inspection after receiving an anonymous phone call in June claiming Mitsubishi Motors had not submitted some documents at the time of the regular inspection in November, the officials said.
Mitsubishi Motors announced Wednesday it is recalling 532,000 vehicles following a recent investigation by the government into the allegations.
Umezaki said the ministry has to be able to effectively deal with such complaints from users and to launch investigations promptly on defective vehicles.
The ministry currently accepts information on defective cars around the clock via telephone, facsimile and its Web site.
It receives about 3,000 complaints every year.
The ministry will increase the number of officials in charge of the inquiry in the next fiscal year and is considering setting up a database on defective cars.