Japan's Hino Motors Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp.'s truck-making subsidiary, admitted Friday to having submitted fraudulent emissions and fuel economy data to transport authorities, suspending the same day the shipment of vehicles with engines for which the figures were utilized and may not meet Japanese standards.

The use of fraudulent data has been ongoing since at least 2016, with the company having sold at least 115,526 vehicles with engines certified by the government based on rigged data, it said.

The company said it conducted an internal investigation into its pre-shipment inspection of vehicles for the domestic market after discovering malpractice in the certification of engines produced for the North American market.

"Employees felt pressured to follow strict schedules and meet numerical targets," company President Satoshi Ogiso during a press conference in Tokyo also attended by Chairman Yoshio Shimo.

Hino said it has already reported the issue to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, as well as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The U.S. Justice Department has already launched a probe into the matter, Hino said.

The company is investigating whether engine certification malpractice took place before 2016.

There have been data fabrication scandals involving other Japanese vehicle makers in the past. In 2016, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. admitting to using favorable data for its cars to exaggerate fuel economy.

==Kyodo

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