Kobe Steel Executive Vice President Naoto Umehara bows his head to apologise after a news conference in Tokyo, Japan December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shanghai has issued a warning on the safety of metal products manufactured by scandal-hit Japanese firm Kobe Steel Ltd 5406.T and strengthened scrutiny measures, state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the city's inspection body.

Japan’s No.3 steelmaker, which supplies the makers of cars, planes and trains across the world, said in October that about 500 of its customers had received products with falsified specifications. The producer’s quality certifications at some domestic plants have already been suspended.

According to the Xinhua report, Kobe shipped in 451,000 tonnes of metal products to China through its Shanghai units over September 2016 to August 2017. Of that, data on 1,420 tonnes of aluminum sheet and 116 tonnes of copper sheet had been tampered, it added, citing the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

While Kobe’s Shanghai units have been in touch with their customers to check on safety of the products, the inspection bureau has said it will continue supervising the units to protect interests of Chinese consumers, Xinhua reported.

The bureau will conduct checks on all products made in Japan by Kobe Steel and set up a special technical investigation team to check its products that are involved with data falsification and release results on a routine basis, the report added.

The bureau will also conduct regular checks on Japan-made metal products imported through the Shanghai port and has already made a full retrospective investigation on related operations by Kobe Steel’s units in the city.

Kobe Shanghai could not immediately comment on the report.