Japan: Mitsubishi cheated on mileage by up to 16 pct

In this May 11, 2016 photo, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Osamu Masuko, left, and President Tetsuro Aikawa prepare for their press conference in Tokyo. The Japanese government said Tuesday, June 21, 2016 that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. overstated mileage on its vehicles by up to 16 percent, but stopped short of slapping further penalties on the company. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) (The Associated Press)

In this May 11, 2016 photo, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Osamu Masuko, answers a question during a press conference in Tokyo. The Japanese government said Tuesday, June 21, 2016 that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. overstated mileage on its vehicles by up to 16 percent, but stopped short of slapping further penalties on the company. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) (The Associated Press)

The Japanese government says Mitsubishi Motors Corp. overstated mileage on its vehicles by up to 16 percent.

The transport ministry said Tuesday it did its own mileage tests to look into the cheating by the Japanese automaker on its minicar models, tiny cars eligible for tax breaks in Japan.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors acknowledged recently it had systematically inflated mileage for eK minicar models, as well as some other models. But it has said it did not lie on mileage on models sold abroad.

Last month, Nissan Motor Co. took a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi, promising to help a turnaround. Under a special agreement, Mitsubishi had supplied the models to Nissan, which does not make its own minicars. Nissan's own tests had uncovered the mileage cheating.