Kobe Steel data fabrication scandal affected 500 firms: CEO

The CEO of Kobe Steel, Hiroya Kawasaki, has revealed that about 500 companies had received its falsely certified products, more than double its earlier count. After the scandal, shares of the third-largest Japanese steelmaker plunged about 40%, wiping out $1.8 billion off its market value. It had earlier said only about 200 companies were affected.