In what was referred to as "one of the largest corporate scandals in Japanese history",[43][44] Mitsubishi was twice forced to admit to systematically covering up defect problems in its vehicles. Four defects were first publicised in 2000, but in 2004 it confessed to 26 more going back as far as 1977, including failing brakes, fuel leaks and malfunctioning clutches. The effect on the company was catastrophic, forcing it to recall 163,707 cars (156,433 in Japan and 7,274 overseas) for free repair.[45] Further recalls by Fuso truck & bus brought the total number of vehicles requiring repair to almost one million.