Mitsubishi Motors admitted last week to using improper fuel-efficiency testing procedures to present inaccurate fuel consumption rates. The scandal came as a surprise to many. But for Hideyuki Kobayashi, a business law professor at Hitotsubashi University, it is an outcome that matches the company's management model.

He said, "compared to other automobile companies, Mitsubishi is a typical Japanese company, as they are extremely introverted, standing by their lifelong employment culture. Having permanent employment and with your boss determining your promotions, you will always respect your boss' decisions."

Kobayashi says Mitsubishi Motors is not the only example of such problems. He points out that similar scandals are also typical of inward looking family-run businesses in Japan such as Takata and Toshiba, both recently caught up in non-compliance scandals.

Mitsubishi Motors' misconduct has revived memories of a scandal from over 15 years ago in which the company admitted systematically covering up customer complaints for more than two decades. That almost brought Mitsubishi to bankruptcy.