New Year’s Greetings From Morizo

Good morning. I am Morizo. I look forward to sharing this year, as well, with you.
First, I would like to offer my prayers for those who lost their lives in the massive Noto Peninsula earthquake and in the airplane accident, as well as express my deepest sympathies to all others affected by those disasters.

On New Year’s Day, I watched the first sunrise of the year at Fuji Speedway and cheered during the New Year Ekiden road running relay, after which the joy of winning was cut short due to 2024 beginning with a tremendous earthquake.

At the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake 13 years ago, someone in the affected area said to me: “I hope that regions, the people of companies, and others that are doing well will do their best to support Japan, including by making up for what the affected areas cannot do.”

Today, Japan has stalwart automotive frontlines operated by 5.5 million people who “move cars”. Together with those 5.5 million colleagues, I, Morizo, will strive to bring smiles back to the faces of the disaster-affected as soon as possible.

Now is the time to cease such things as confrontation, division, dispute, and slander and to help each other and say “Thank you” to one another with a smile. I believe that this is a time that requires us to display such maturity.

Tokyo Auto Salon is a festival at which car lovers can surround themselves with cars and smiles. The smiles born here will lead to energizing Japan’s automotive industry.

I would like to link that energy to the vitality of Japan as a whole again this year. Today, with such a desire, I hope you will allow me to extend to you my greetings for the new year.

Now, please watch this video.

“Car lovers! Let’s build the future together!”

Together with these words, I will keep on moving. Because we’re car lovers, we can build the future… My desire to enjoy cars makes me want to try various technologies… This is something that I’m serious about.

So, in 2023, over one year, Morizo accomplished three things!

The first was creating future colleagues.

As shown in the video a moment ago, we provided an occasion for children, who will play the main roles in the future, to feel that cars are fun.
If the sounds, smells, and clouds of dust experienced on school grounds become fun memories, our effort could be called a success.

Judging from the smiling faces of the children in the cars, I believe it was a success.

This year, as well, I will compete in races and rallies across Japan. I would like to be able to stop by elementary schools again while I’m where I will be.

Although I am not able to give baseball gloves to every elementary school in Japan (like Major League Baseball star Shohei Otani recently did), I hope to be able to deliver at least a few fun car memories.

The second was creating colleagues across national borders.

As was also shown in the video, car festivals were held in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Thailand. I, myself, went to the ones in the Philippines and Thailand and can say that the people there are surely passionate about cars!

I believe that there are expectations in every country for the automotive industry. Those expectations are why such passion exists.

On the other hand, in Japan, I feel that instead of having high expectations, people are saying things that make me think that maybe they want to let this industry decline.

How to climb the carbon neutrality mountain depends on the country and region. However, isn’t a desire for cars what we all need?

I found out that, overseas, we have many colleagues who have such a passionate desire. This year, as well, I want to search for such colleagues and meet them.

Frankly, being able to meet such colleagues energizes me. I wonder how much I will even be in Japan this year.

Going off topic for a bit, did you notice that the title is different from the usual? Today, this is not a GAZOO Racing press conference. We made it into an occasion for sharing greetings from Morizo.

Last year, I stepped down as president and also as chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.