This morning in metals news, Japan’s aluminum industry is considering crafting a set of quality assurance guidelines (on the heels of the Kobe Steel quality data falsification scandal), LME copper move further away from last week’s one-month low and Kobe Steel blames its plant managers for the data scandal.

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Changes to Aluminum Industry in Japan?

On the heels of Kobe Steel’s quality data falsification scandal, many in Japan are asking the same question: how can we prevent the same thing from happening again?

The scandal has rocked Kobe Steel, the third-largest steelmaker in Japan. As a result, the Japanese aluminum industry is considering building a new set of quality assurance guidelines, Reuters reported.

Copper Moves Up

London copper moved up Monday, Reuters reported, powered by strong demand and a lagging U.S. dollar.

Copper moved up 0.7% to $6,832.50 a ton by 0719 GMT, according to the report, up from a one-month low last week of $6,761.50 a ton.

Kobe Steel Plant Managers Get Blame for Scandal

As with any scandal, designation of blame is inevitable — and vis-a-vis Kobe Steel’s quality data falsification scandal, Kobe is blaming its plant managers, according to The New York Times.

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According to an internal company report, plant managers were at the center of the issue — instead of scrapping products that fell below quality guidelines and manufacturing new ones, the plant managers signed off on the sub-standard metal products.