Chairman of the Board of Directors, Yamaha Corporation
Japan Mobility Show 2023 Yamaha Booth Press Briefing
A message video by the President of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Yoshihiro Hidaka and the President of Yamaha Corporation Takuya ...
Transcript (11 segments)
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Hidaka2:05
Hello everyone, I'm Hidaka from Yamaha. What you just saw is the electric trial bike TY 2.2. With rider Kenichi Kuroyama, who gave that impressive performance, it's the only electric bike competing in the All Japan Trial Championship, going head-to-head with gasoline bikes this season. With one round left, we're currently 3rd. Please give another round of applause to Mr. Kuroyama. The spread of EVs gives us new inspiration, expanding possibilities for mobility entertainment and indoor sports, bringing joy to more people. Thank you for visiting our booth today. At the previous Tokyo Motor Show in October 2019, we shared our long-term vision 'Art for Human Possibility'—that people can be happier. Then the pandemic struck, restricting movement and forcing us to stay home, making it hard to maintain our humanity. Now, as we regain the ability to go places and meet people, we feel even more strongly the message that people can be happier. Yamaha Motor wants to highlight mobility's role and expand its functions to broaden human potential. Let me show you one connection through mobility: a video of interaction between high school students on a remote island and a Paralympic athlete. Encouraging courage is also a function of future mobility. To realize that, we are polishing advanced safety technology. Here is AMSAS, a motorcycle stabilization support system combining a 6-axis sensor and drive actuator to reduce wobbling at low speeds where rider skill matters. We're accelerating development for production models. Working with people who want to expand their potential through mobility also changes our manufacturing process. Here is an in-house co-creation: the leaning multi-wheel off-road version being developed by our TMV vehicle experimental division, and the fun EV called EFV by young staff. Competition is also a form of change—for example, Gachako battery sharing with e-nos Holdings and four domestic motorcycle makers; this time we display a Honda-swappable battery in our EV. For carbon neutrality, we also need non-electric options, like hydrogen energy. Four domestic motorcycle makers have founded a technology research association for basic hydrogen engine research. Increasing partners who share this vision is key. At the same time, we want to keep demonstrating Yamaha Motor's uniqueness. Here is the handling EV Tricera, focusing on the joy of being as you are through handling—recognized globally as 'Handling Yamaha'—and the value of gamifying training. Now, let me introduce our exhibition partner, Yamaha Corporation, and its president, Takuya Nakata.
Now, let's welcome our guest, Takuya Nakata, president of Yamaha Corporation. Please, come on in.
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Takuya Nakata9:31
I'm Nakata. Nice to meet you.
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Hidaka9:35
Earlier, Mr. Nakata and I walked around the venue together. What was your impression?
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Takuya Nakata9:41
Well, first I felt that new value and meaning are being born in the movement of people and things. Mobility is gaining narrative and enjoyment. As Mr. Hidaka mentioned earlier, being able to do what you couldn't do before makes joy even greater. That's the gamification of training.
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Hidaka10:13
Mobility is like that, but isn't that element even stronger for musical instruments?
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Takuya Nakata10:18
That's right. It takes time to be able to play an instrument as you want, but as you gradually become able to play a little, that becomes motivation to improve further. It truly is training. I remember in my student days, I wanted to play Led Zeppelin songs and practiced guitar hard. Starting with slow passages, then gradually speeding up. You can't become good right away, but I still remember the joy of feeling I had climbed a step from not being able to do it. Training brings fulfillment. I call that 'human necessities.' To put it extremely, musical instruments aren't necessary just to live, but for people to live richly, music and enjoyable movement are essential.
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Hidaka11:33
Human necessities, exactly. Instruments and vehicles can't fill your stomach, but they fill your heart. They're like love.
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Takuya Nakata11:49
Motorcycles aren't always fun. But they are partners that are always there for you. Beyond that, you maintain and tune them to play the sound you want or ride safely. That's also fun. Both instruments and motorcycles—if they can become someone's companion beyond being mere objects, that would be wonderful. We want to bring that relationship closer through technology, to advance together into areas humans cannot reach alone.
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Hidaka12:33
It's time. Finally, let me introduce Motroid 2, which uses Yamaha Corporation's acoustic technology Active Field Control to create an immersive experience, bringing us one step closer to the concept of a being that transcends the human-machine relationship. Thank you for today.
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Takuya Nakata12:56
Thank you very much.