Japan's transport ministry on Friday lifted its shipment ban on three models of vehicle made by Mazda Motor Corp. and Yamaha Motor Co., saying they have met government safety standards following a recent vehicle certification scandal.
A total of six models were slapped with a shipment ban on June 3, after the two firms as well as Toyota Motor Corp. admitted to cheating on vehicle tests to obtain certifications for mass production.
But the three models -- Mazda's Roadster RF and Mazda2 and Yamaha's YZF-R1 motorcycle -- can now be sold, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said.
Mazda said it will start shipment of the affected models kept in stock from Monday. It plans to restart production in mid-July. Yamaha aims to resume shipment of its motorcycle around early July, it said.
The ministry is still checking whether the three remaining models, all made by Toyota, meet the required standards.
Honda Motor Co. and Suzuki Motor Corp. have also said they conducted improper vehicle tests. But the two companies were not subject to the ministry's shipment halt order as all of their affected models were already out of production.
The ministry, which inspected the five firms' headquarters earlier this month, has instructed Mazda, Yamaha and Honda to ensure similar misconduct never happens again and report how they are implementing preventive measures every six months.
Suzuki was exempted as it has already completed introducing preventive measures, the ministry said.
