Subaru has said it was recalling 395,000 vehicles in Japan and expected about JPY20bn (US$177m) in costs related to improper final inspection procedures at its domestic plants, a media report said.

Reuters noted the automaker previously had said it planned to recall about 400,000 vehicles and estimated costs would exceed JPY10bn.

On Thursday it said it had not yet decided when to book the costs and would not immediately revise forecasts for the financial year ending 31 March.

It recently forecast fully year operating profit of JPY380bn compared with an earlier forecast JPY410bn and the previous year's JPY410.8bn.

Last month, Reuters added, Subaru said that for over 30 years, final inspections of new vehicles at its main Gunma complex north of Tokyo were sometimes done by inspectors who were not listed as certified technicians, violating transport ministry requirements.

This followed a similar oversight at Nissan Motor which led to temporary plant closures, factory layout changes and a recall.