A material part is supported, but the published wording goes beyond the record.
Kobe Steel said in 2018 that its safety verification had found no cases requiring immediate suspension of use or recall of customers' products.
no cases that would require the immediate suspension of use or immediate recall
- About
- Kobe Steel, Ltd.
- Claim made by
- Kobe Steel, Ltd., company statement
- Published
- 18 May 2018
- Original
- FAQs
- Evidence score
- 53 How it was scored
- Last reviewed
- 25 October 2026
Why this label
The company reports verification work that supports part of the claim. Its March 2018 report shows safety verification completed for 520 of the 525 customers announced in October 2017 and 129 of 163 customers found laterS2. Within that work it reports no case requiring immediate suspension or recallS3. The verification was incomplete when the statement was madeS2. The checks were done by the company and its customers, and no regulator finding on product safety was read here. The record supports the company's account of its own checks, not a general conclusion that all affected products were safe.
Current procedural position
Company statement updated on 18 May 2018S3. No regulator safety finding read.
Record supporting the assessment
no cases that would require the immediate suspension of use or immediate recall of customers' products
Conflicting or limiting record
have also completed safety verification for some of these cases
Evidence score: 53 of 100
The score grades how well the record establishes this assessment. It is not a score of Kobe Steel, Ltd.. Score = source authority + directness + corroboration + procedural accuracy + currency + reproducibility.
| Component | Points | Max | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source authorityIs the source competent to establish the proposition? | 13 | 30 | The evidence is the company's own account of its checks. |
| DirectnessDoes the source state the proposition or only discuss adjacent facts? | 15 | 20 | The FAQ states the finding directly. |
| CorroborationDo independent records support the same material point? | 4 | 15 | No independent safety record was read. |
| Procedural accuracyDoes the record settle the procedural state the claim describes? | 5 | 15 | Safety verification was still open for some customers in 2018. |
| CurrencyHas the record been checked against later developments? | 7 | 10 | No later safety finding was found in a 2025 and 2026 search. |
| ReproducibilityCan a reader locate the passage and repeat the assessment? | 9 | 10 | Both pages are public. |
| Total | 53 | 100 |
Timeline
Revision history
- Assessment first published with label Partly supported.
Have a record that changes this assessment? See corrections and responses.
Sources
- S3Tier B FAQsKobe Steel, Ltd.. Company statement. Updated 18 May 2018.Company answers on safety verification. It is the company's own assessment.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
- S2Tier B Report on the Kobe Steel Group’s misconductKobe Steel, Ltd.. Commissioned report. 6 March 2018.Company report drawing on the Independent Investigation Committee's work. It does not state how long the misconduct lasted.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
- S1Tier B Timeline of Key EventsKobe Steel, Ltd.. Company statement. As of 11 April 2018.Company timeline from June 2016 to March 2018, including the 8 October 2017 disclosure. It does not cover the prosecution or US matters.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
Other claims about Kobe Steel, Ltd.
- Supported79Kobe Steel disclosed in October 2017 that its Aluminum & Copper Business had shipped products that did not meet customer specifications with falsified inspection data.Company statement, 8 October 20173 records citedProduct claims
- Unverifiable31A 2018 press report said Kobe Steel's data fraud had lasted nearly five decades.Press report, July 20181 record citedProduct claims
- Supported74Kobe Steel was fined 100 million yen in March 2019 for violating Japan's Unfair Competition Prevention Act over its product misconduct.Company statement, 13 March 20191 record citedFraud
- Supported62Kobe Steel said in July 2019 that the US Justice Department confirmed it required no further documents in its investigation of the misconduct.Company statement, 17 July 20192 records citedCorporate status