No required periodical inspections on an affiliate of scandal-hit industrial insurance provider KSD were conducted by the former Labor Ministry since the affiliate's inception in December 1991, the Diet learned Friday.

Despite ministry bylaws stipulating checks on public corporations under the ministry's jurisdiction, the ministry did not inspect IMM Japan, for which Tadao Koseki, founder and former president of KSD, served as director.

This fact emerged in written responses by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to written questions by Social Democratic Party lawmakers Renko Kitagawa and Nobuto Hosaka.

he bylaws require the ministry to conduct written or on-site inspections of public corporations once every three years to confirm the organizations are run properly.

The ministry admitted its management of the organization was inadequate.

The ministry's answers also reveal that 647 foreign trainees accepted by IMM Japan disappeared between June 1992 and last Dec. 5, 337 of whom have not returned to their home countries.

In addition, the documents show the Labor Ministry recommended that Koseki receive the state honor of the Medal with a Blue Ribbon in November 1993.

KSD is a quasi-public corporation affiliated with the Labor Ministry that offers industrial insurance to small and medium-size companies.

Koseki and former KSD board member Hiroyoshi Yamada have been indicted on breach of trust and other charges for allegedly misusing the group's money.