Indictment of Mitsubishi Motors by the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors' Office

On behalf of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, I wish to apologize to everyone who has been affected in some way by the recent events surrounding the recalls conducted by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation for the trouble and undue worry we have caused.

I would also like to once again pay my deepest respects to the two victims who passed away as a result of the tragic accidents that occurred when a wheel hub and propeller shaft fell off Mitsubishi Fuso trucks in January 2002 and October 2002, respectively, and offer my sincerest apologies to the victims' families.

Following on from the indictment by the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors' Office of former Mitsubishi Motors executives to the Yokohama Summary Court on suspicion of violating Japan's Road Trucking Vehicle Law for circumstances surrounding the January 2002 accident, Mitsubishi Motors was today also indicted on the same charges, as it was the company that employed the executives at the time. Although Mitsubishi Motors' truck and bus division was spun off into Mitsubishi Fuso in January 2003, the operations were a part of Mitsubishi Motors at the time of the accident and we take this matter very seriously.

Since the recall problems our company faced in 2000, as part of our internal reporting system and quality check structure, we have strengthened our internal auditing, reformed our system for processing customer complaints, and reorganized our development and production processes. To further improve on these measures, we will implement a number of new steps as outlined in our revitalization plan announced on May 21.

A major focus of our revitalization plan is to enhance our compliance and quality assurance efforts. Our Business Ethics Committee, which consists of outside experts, will scrutinize the company's internal activities from an external perspective, reporting its findings to the board of directors and providing advice.

We are also establishing a Corporate Social Responsibility Promotion Office under the direct control of the CEO. The CSR Promotion Office will be responsible for keeping a check on quality management and internal compliance issues while also implementing improvements.

Further, by bringing our quality assurance and quality management functions together under the president in the form of the Quality Assurance Office, we will be able to speed up improvements in quality and create a solid framework to ensure that a situation similar to the one leading to today's indictment never happens again.

I would like to take this opportunity to pledge that Mitsubishi Motors will turn over a new leaf to regain your trust by returning to the basics of placing top priority on customers, safety, and quality, while reforming its corporate culture and increasing transparency.