Akio Toyoda Chairs His First Shareholders' Meeting in 3 Years: Three Starting Points｜Toyota Times

I'm sure you've seen many changes over my 14 years, and during the three years, under former president Koji Sato. During the pandemic, 300 shareholders joined us here in person. Today, we have 8,922 shareholders attending this general meeting. With the support of so many shareholders, I am deeply grateful. Thank you very much. I'd say these shareholders' meeting changes are part of our ever-better carmaking revolution. First, I'm not an engineer. Second, I took over when the company was in the red. If I had to add one more, it'd be representing Toyota at the U.S. hearings. For me, these three things were the starting point for everything. Back then, when Toyota was in the red, we were praised for making money. In a sense, I was there as the rearguard. Many expected me to take responsibility. When I became president, I felt tremendous pressure, and honestly, I had no idea how I should proceed. So all I had was my love for Toyota. And my love of driving. That's why I felt the only way was to risk my life with our cars at Nürburgring. That was the only way I could change Toyota's direction. Back then, many dismissed it as a rich kid's hobby. These days, wherever I go, their support gives me strength. And what makes me happiest is hearing people say our cars have changed. Another big change came on the day I took the stand at the U.S. public hearings. For me, it may have been a turning point in my career. In that crisis, I had to fight for Toyota's present, past, and future. And I had to take responsibility for our group, dealers, and suppliers. I believed that was my role as someone with the Toyoda name, and I fought every day. Thanks to our shareholders and many colleagues, now I'm back in this seat as chairman. The biggest difference is that I have colleagues devoted to carmaking. Not subordinates but colleagues. With these colleagues, please look forward to Toyota's ever-better carmaking. Shareholders are the owners. For a while, I saw these shareholders' meetings as our yearly mirror. I'd like Toyota's shareholders' meetings to be a place where you, the owners, and those of us leading the company can speak openly and honestly. I'd like our meetings to be like that. Now I'm back as chairperson after quite a while, and I'm the one calling on others. I must say, it's a nice place to be. Getting called on is nerve-racking, but I'm the one doing the calling. Apologies to the team, but I'd like to stay here a little longer. Of course, that’s up to the company. We create these meetings together with you. We want to create something we can proudly show the world, so I hope you'll continue to share your honest views. That's your role as owners. That's what I'd like to ask of you as owners. And that's my answer. Thank you.

First, I spoke at the press conference because when such incidents happen, the focus inevitably shifts to preventing a repeat. All kinds of things happen in the genba every day. Not everything goes to plan. When that happens, we stop, respond, and fix it. That's how Toyota has delivered quality over the years. Preventing a repeat becomes a search for a culprit. I believe the role of those at the top is to make decisions and take responsibility. At a global company like Toyota, problems aren't caused by one person. Many people help build our cars. If you're looking for a culprit, I believe I'm the appropriate person. By saying, "I'm responsible," I think that let the genba focus on preventing a recurrence. Any manufactured product has some variation. When we sell 10 million cars, such things can happen unintentionally. If I were to say publicly, "This will never happen again," people might try to hide things to avoid embarrassing the chairman. And hiding things is the real problem. Once you accept that issues will happen, those responsible must act accordingly. That lets the genba focus on their work. From the start, we traced the root causes with material and information flow diagrams.