I also remember reading another report that mentioned that software engineering was regarded as 2nd class discipline to hardware in many Japanese companies, and that resulted in sloppiness, lack of oversight and rigorous testing at that time. This problem was partially mitigated by placing SW R&D in other countries, where it was easier to attract talent.
Lean methodology is focused on quality on multiple layers, however, as you mentioned, the implementation may not fulfil the spec.
see https://www.edn.com/design/automotive/4423428/Toyota-s-kille...
I also remember reading another report that mentioned that software engineering was regarded as 2nd class discipline to hardware in many Japanese companies, and that resulted in sloppiness, lack of oversight and rigorous testing at that time. This problem was partially mitigated by placing SW R&D in other countries, where it was easier to attract talent.
Lean methodology is focused on quality on multiple layers, however, as you mentioned, the implementation may not fulfil the spec.