Kakogawa

The local council in Kakogawa placed a piano inside the area's main railway station in November.

The company’s other main plant in the area is Kakogawa Works, in the nearby city of Kakogawa.

In 2006, Kobe Steel admitted falsifying soot-emissions data from the blast furnaces at Kobe Works and Kakogawa Works.

The latest scandal reflects “exactly the same set-up”, said Shoichi Tarumoto, who was then mayor of Kakogawa.

The Kakogawa Works is that city’s biggest company, vital as a local taxpayer and employer.