Nearly 80 percent of questions in a highly competitive government-sponsored exam for auto mechanic licenses held earlier this week were leaked to examinees through Toyota Motor Corp. dealerships, the nation's top automaker said Wednesday.
Toyota President Fujio Cho phoned transport minister Nobuteru Ishihara and visited the ministry to apologize.
"The incident was extremely deplorable, because it damaged the credibility of the exam" as well as the confidence of Toyota customers, Cho later told reporters.