TOKYO -- Kobe Steel Chairman and CEO Hiroya Kawasaki will step down in response to quality control lapses that resulted in substandard materials being supplied to hundreds of companies, people familiar with the matter told Nikkei.
The scandal encompassing aluminum, copper, steel and other products affected some of Japan's biggest manufacturers, including automakers Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Mazda Motor, as well as bullet train operators JR Tokai and JR West.
