Japan transport minister: Mitsubishi Motors expected to submit data Tuesday

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's transport minister said he expects Mitsubishi Motors Corp to submit information related to its falsification of fuel economy data on Tuesday, within the deadline set by the ministry.

Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii also said the ministry has set up a task force to examine fuel economy data submitted by automakers.

Mitsubishi Motors said last week it overstated the fuel economy of four domestic models, including two produced for Nissan Motor Co. The misleading data affects 625,000 vehicles sold in Japan and Mitsubishi Motors has halted production and sales of the affected models.

"This is a serious issue which we need to investigate. We need to establish who is responsible for such falsification, to ensure that this doesn't happen again," Ishii told reporters.

(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)