A shareholder of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. filed a suit Monday with the Tokyo District Court demanding 11 former MMC executives pay some 1.18 billion yen in compensation for the company's losses due to the coverup of auto defects and customer complaints.
The 63-year-old shareholder from Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, said the coverup has tarnished MMC's image, resulting in a 30 percent drop in the company's sales of new vehicles in October and November last year as well as losses topping 11.5 billion yen for the free auto checks it conducted to restore trust.
The plaintiff's lawyer said the 11 executives, including former MMC President Katsuhiko Kawasoe, should take responsibility for concealing information that may have affected lives. Kawasoe resigned as president last October to take responsibility for the scandal.
An MMC spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit because it was filed against individuals, not the company.
The Metropolitan Police Department sent papers to public prosecutors in February on MMC and nine of its executives on suspicion of systematically concealing defects and complaints in 1999.
MMC executives concealed customer complaints that could lead to recalls when the then Transport Ministry inspected the company in March and November 1999. Instead, they merely reported claims that would not necessitate recalls, the police said.
The district court fined MMC 4 million yen last October for illicitly covering up the auto defects.