Japan's Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has decided to allow Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan to resume sales of four kei (mini) cars that were embroiled in the fuel efficiency scandal.

This comes after the ministry seriously considered cancelling the certification of the Mitsubishi-manufactured eK Wagon, eK Space and the Dayz and Dayz Roox it manufactures for Nissan.

The announcement was made yesterday even after information has come to light that erroneous figures released by Mitsubishi were 11 to 16-percent better than results from the Transport Ministry’s own tests.

Mitsubishi has also submitted revised mileage results that were already based on current parameters issued by the ministry.

After checking emissions – which passed the standard – and finding that the manipulated mileage data did not affect the safety of the vehicle, the ministry has simply decided to issue the automaker a stern reprimand.

As part of its effort to win back the public’s trust, Mitsubishi has said that it will pay each Japanese owner of a vehicle involved in the fuel efficiency scandal ¥100,000 ($960) as compensation for the extra fuel expense and falsifying the mileage data.

Mitsubishi Motors expects to declare a net loss this year due to the scandal. The total cost for the compensation is expected to reach $600-million, which will siginificantly hit its bottom line.

The Japanese automaker will also set aside up to ¥9-billion yen ($86.19 million) to reimburse customers for lost "eco car" tax breaks for models with overstated mileage readings. Production of the affected vehicles is planned to resume early next month.