Has quality management been improving continuously?

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Recently, I came across on Weibo news that a Japanese company has been engaging in fraud for 40 years, thereby destroying the reputation associated with Japanese quality and standards. As someone who has been in the petrochemical engineering industry for many years, I have been reflecting deeply lately and asking myself: Has the quality of projects truly improved over the years? But when it comes to individual projects, is this really the case? At least my answer is no; the period from 2006 to 2014 was a good time, with technology advancing, quality improving, and construction becoming more efficient. However, in recent years the situation has not continued to improve; instead, it has deteriorated. Everyone is concerned about how to shorten the construction period, while quality is not given enough attention, and data falsification occurs in non-critical areas as well. I just want to see whether these are my personal opinions and conclusions, or the choices made by the entire industry as it competes in this blue ocean market.