Kobe Steel plants faked quality data for decades: Nikkei

(Reuters) - Japan's Kobe Steel Ltd (5406.T) falsified product quality data well beyond the roughly 10-year time frame given by the steelmaker, the Nikkei financial daily reported, citing a source with knowledge of the situation.

Kobe Steel Chief Executive Hiroya Kawasaki on Friday said about 500 companies had received its falsely certified products, more than double its earlier count, confirming widespread wrongdoing at the steelmaker, Reuters reported earlier in the day.

The steelmaker is conducting a group-wide probe including interviewing former senior officials and expects to submit a report on the reasons behind the fraudulent activities and measures to contain it in a month or so, the Nikkei reported.

(Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)