TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's banking industry group will hire external auditors as part of an effort aimed at preventing manipulation of the Tokyo interbank offered rate (Tibor), the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

The move by the Japanese Bankers Association comes in the wake of global scrutiny into benchmark lending rates with several banks and brokerages under investigation worldwide for manipulating benchmark rates such as Libor and Euribor.

The scandal has raised questions about how these benchmark rates are set, prompting global reviews. For Tibor, no case of rate manipulation has been found so far.

Of the 26 interest rates the Japanese Bankers Association currently releases, some that are rarely used will be scrapped as they do not accurately reflect transaction levels, the Nikkei said.