TOKYO – Suzuki on Wednesday admitted to finding “discrepancies” in its fuel-economy and emissions testing, but the firm denied deliberately manipulating data to make cars seem more efficient.

The remarks from the Japanese small-car maker came in the wake of rival Mitsubishi Motors’ shock admission last month that it had cheated on fuel-efficiency tests for decades.

On Wednesday, Mitsubishi said its president Tetsuro Aikawa would resign over the scandal, which has left the company’s reputation in tatters.

Japan’s transport ministry has ordered all domestic automakers to probe their own compliance with government testing methods following Mitsubishi’s revelations that it manipulated fuel-economy data.

Major players Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Mazda have already denied any wrongdoing.

Suzuki joined that list Wednesday, although it admitted that it was not using testing methods required by the government.

“Any wrongdoing, such as manipulation of fuel efficiency data, were not found,” it said.

“Some discrepancies were found in the automobile emission and fuel-efficiency testing process” between procedures required by the government and what Suzuki did, the company statement added.

In a curious revelation, Suzuki admitted that windy conditions at its seaside proving ground forced it to perform some tests inside a lab instead of outdoors as the government requires, which may have skewed results.

Sixteen models and about two million cars were affected, but the problem did not extend to cars sold outside Japan, according to Suzuki, which has a major presence in India.

Suzuki said it has been using the improper testing since 2010.

The firm’s shares dived as investors took it as the latest bad news for a global auto industry shaken by scandals over deadly defects and emissions cheating.

Suzuki stock plunged as much as 15 percent in afternoon trading. It closed 9.4 percent lower at 2,613 yen (US$24).

The Suzuki news comes amid the Mitsubishi revelations and as Germany’s Volkswagen struggles to drive past a worldwide emissions cheating scandal.

Tokyo-based auto parts giant Takata has also been hit by lawsuits and regulatory probes over claims it hid deadly airbag flaws linked to at least 13 deaths and scores of injuries globally.

Suzuki’s 86-year-old chairman Osamu Suzuki, a descendant of the company’s founding family, visited the transport ministry Wednesday to discuss the issue and later apologised at a press briefing.

In a separate case, Seoul said this week it will fine Nissan for allegedly manipulating emissions data on a popular diesel sports utility vehicle sold in South Korea.

The news came as an embarrassment for Japan’s number two carmaker, but the company has so far not come under fire for emissions cheating in Japan or anywhere else.

The Suzuki admission did not appear as serious as Mitsubishi’s revelations.

“But even so, using a different testing method than the one ordered by the government is a problem,” Koji Endo, managing director at Advanced Research Japan, said earlier Wednesday.

Last week, Nissan threw an unexpected lifeline to Mitsubishi by offering to buy 34 percent of its shares, in a deal that would give Nissan effective control over the smaller firm.

The scandal – reported to cover almost every model sold in Japan since the early 1990s – also includes mini-cars produced by Mitsubishi for Nissan as part of a joint venture.

It was Nissan that first uncovered problems with the fuel economy data, but Mitsubishi has said Nissan had no part in the cheating.

Nissan’s top executive warned last week that he would kill the US$2.2 billion offer if the Mitsubishi scandal spreads beyond Japan.

NEW DELHI – Muslim groups on Wednesday slammed a directive from India’s Hindu nationalist government for participants in International Yoga Day to chant “Om”, citing religious bias.

The mass outdoor yoga session, to be held in June for its second year, is an initiative spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking to reclaim the practice as an historic part of Indian culture.

“Yogic practise shall start with a prayer or prayerful mood to enhance benefits of the practise,” read a note issued by Ayush ministry, which works for the promotion of yoga, as shown by television networks.

The ministry said participants should chant the sacred sound “Om” and Hindu vedic hymns at the start and end of the 45-minute event on June 21.

Muslim groups reacted with anger, saying such chants were against their faith and accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of seeking to impose a hardline Hindu agenda.

“We are not against yoga but India is a secular country and the state has no religion,” Zafaryab Jilani, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board told AFP.

“If they are imposing a Hindu religious practice on the rest of us, it is unconstitutional.” The government waded into a similar controversy last year after it made the surya namaskar pose (sun salutation) part of the event.

Muslim groups say certain yoga poses and chants have clear Hindu overtones and are against Islam.

“They are again and again trying to impose a Hindutva (“Hinduness”) agenda. This order should be cancelled immediately,” Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, a top Muslim cleric said.

The opposition also weighed in, accusing the government of seeking to impose a narrow vision on the ancient tradition, which commands huge global popularity.

“Yoga has achieved the status of an international art form and by imposing such conditions the government is killing its essence,” Manish Tewari, a leader of the main opposition Congress party said.

“People from different religions do it and the practitioner should decide what to chant.” Following the outcry, the Ayush ministry issued a clarification saying the directive was not compulsory.

Indian scholars believe yoga dates back 5,000 years, based on archaeological evidence of poses found inscribed on stones and references to Yogic teachings in the ancient Hindu scriptures of the Vedas.

In 2014 the United Nations accepted India’s proposal to declare June 21 as International Yoga Day, highlighting its health benefits.

Thousands gathered in dozens of cities around the world to celebrate the inaugural event last year, with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon performing yoga at Times Square in New York.

Once a secret beach paradise attracting only few privileged tropical seekers in the know, Koh Tachai island has become too popular for its own good.

The southern Thailand island, the main gem in the world-renowned Similan group of islands, will be closed to visitors indefinitely from this week.

Alarmed by the damage to the natural beauty of the island wrought by marauding hordes of tourists over the years, park authorities have ordered a shutdown to prevent a further environmental degradation, officials told the media.

“We have to close it to allow the rehabilitation of the environment both on the island and in the sea without being disturbed by tourism activities before the damage is beyond repair,” official Tunya Netithammakul told The Bangkok Post.

The island’s shoreline, beaches and coral reefs around it will be off-limits to all visitors.

Related: Thai committee wants 32 dive sites closed because of coral bleaching

Thailand’s Koh Tachai island shut down due to tourism damage

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More than 1,000 people on the beach

Almost all marine national parks in the kingdom will close to tourists from mid-May to mid-October because of the monsoon season. But Tachai will not reopen till the authorities are satisfied with its recovery.

In TripAdvisor travel booking website, the island is touted as the No.1 attraction in the Similan marine park. After its closure, two deep dive sites nearby will still remain open to visitors.

On the overcrowding on Tachai, Asst Prof Thon Thamrongnawasawat, deputy dean of the Faculty of Fisheries of Kasetsart University, who spoke at a recent fair organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said: “In fact, Koh Tachai is preserved as a primitive zone, not a tourist site. A beach on the island can hold up to 70 people. But sometimes the number of tourists was well over 1,000 on the beach.”

Looks like it’s Tachai’s turn for a much needed R & R.

chenj@sph.com.sg