Toyota Submits Fourth Progress Report on Recurrence Prevention Measures to MLIT
Toyota Motor Corporation has submitted its fourth quarterly progress report on measures to prevent recurrence of model certification application issues to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), following a correction order issued by the ministry. This report provides a comprehensive update on the company’s ongoing initiatives and highlights concrete actions taken since the previous report in May 2025. It reflects Toyota’s commitment to strengthen its certification operations and ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Background: Correction Order from MLIT
On July 31, 2024, MLIT issued a correction order requiring Toyota to implement fundamental reforms across its certification operations. The order identified four key areas for improvement:
- Management involvement – strengthening leadership engagement in certification activities.
- Regulations – clarifying operational standards and regulatory compliance.
- Record-keeping – improving documentation and monitoring processes.
- Human resource development – enhancing employee skills and knowledge to ensure correct execution of duties.
Toyota’s response to this order has been structured around three strategic pillars: Strengthening Foundations, Monozukuri (manufacturing excellence), and Human Development. Each pillar is aimed at creating a robust and sustainable system that ensures every employee is aware of compliance requirements and is capable of performing tasks correctly.
Strengthening Foundations
Toyota has focused on reinforcing its operational base through active management engagement at the genba, or workplace. Senior management, including the president and executive vice presidents, regularly visit operational sites to identify issues firsthand and make timely decisions to address abnormalities. Weekly executive-level meetings are held to review genba conditions, discuss potential hardships, and determine management actions.
The company continues to implement abnormality management throughout the vehicle development process. This includes certification operation audits by in-house inspectors and independent third-party audits. Toyota is also enhancing transparency in certification operations by visualizing anomalies, such as testing schedules and workload conditions. Measures include better allocation of human and physical resources and flexible scheduling to accommodate certification workloads.
Monozukuri: Improving Operational Processes
Toyota has advanced its operational approach in ongoing development projects to prevent recurrence of past issues. A key feature of this approach is a system that evaluates the impact of each project milestone on certification operations, taking into account relevant laws, the scale of certification work, project schedules, and the number of vehicles to be certified. As of August 2025, Toyota is actively managing 137 such projects.
Management regularly discusses countermeasures for issues observed at the genba, holding 13 meetings since the previous report and 45 in total. Responsibilities are clarified for each process, including judgment criteria, regulatory connections, and operational checkpoints. The regulatory framework is under continuous review to ensure certification operations maintain high-quality standards and can be halted promptly if irregularities arise.
Toyota is also leveraging digital technologies to reduce manual workloads at the genba, particularly by minimizing tasks such as data transcription, which streamlines operations and improves accuracy.
Human Development
Developing human resources remains a central focus for Toyota. Regular communication between management and employees is maintained not only in development and certification operations but also across planning, production, sales, and other certification-related functions. President Akio Toyoda has sent 20 company-wide messages to reinforce compliance culture and share guidance.
Internal training programs for certification operations continue, alongside the introduction of the Meister internal qualification system. This system consists of five tiers, with the Meister as the highest level, designed to sustain the quality of certification tests and foster autonomous improvement at each genba. Educational programs are tailored to each qualification level to enhance skills and promote proper certification operations.
Since February of last year, Chairman Akio Toyoda has led the rollout of Toyota’s company-wide TPS (Toyota Production System) training program for Certification Work, aimed at improving operational systems and creating a culture of continuous improvement. Daily on-site presence by the president and senior management at planning, development, design, production, and sales genba helps identify bottlenecks and abnormalities promptly.
Commitment to Stakeholders
Toyota emphasizes that these efforts are not limited to compliance but reflect a broader commitment to regaining stakeholder trust. By combining strengthened foundations, operational improvements, and human resource development, Toyota aims to create a robust certification system that ensures legal compliance, operational transparency, and sustainable quality across the entire company.
The company will continue to implement and expand these initiatives throughout the Toyota Group, guided by clear priorities and structured activity plans. Through these ongoing measures, Toyota is dedicated to enhancing the integrity of its certification processes and maintaining the confidence of regulators, customers, and the wider public.
