Eiji Toyoda, former president of Toyota Corp., died today at the age of exactly 100.
The Toyota company started in the early 1930’s by Eiji Toyoda’s father and the company’s name was originally “Toyoda” but was changed a few years later to the current トヨタ (Toyota) because it’s sounds nicer in spoken Japanese and looks nicer in written Japanese.
Eiji Toyoda, R.I.P., 1913 September 13 – 2013 September 17
I saw a TV commercial yesterday for a 「シボレー」 (“Chrevolet“) car.
It was a car called the 「シボレー・ソニック」 (“Chrevolet Sonic“).
This may seem like nothing unusual to you…especially if you live in America, where TV commercials for American cars are quite common.
But I realized, after seeing that commercial, that I don’t recall having seen an ad for any foreign (ie: not Japanese) cars, until now, since I came to Japan in 1990.
I realized that every advertisement I’ve seen in Japan for automobiles or electronics (Japan’s two biggest industries) have all been for Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and other Japanese companies.
Almost every car and motorcycle on the road in Japan is Japanese. Sometimes wealthy people buy a foreign car as a kind of “status symbol”…normally it’ll be an Italian or German car that they choose.
Also, close to every single electronic product sold in Japan is made by a Japanese company. Products made by American companies such as Kodak, Polaroid or Zenith aren’t normally found in Japan. Do those companies even exist anymore?
Here’s the commercial for the 「シボレー・ソニック」 (“Chevrolet Sonic“) that I saw on TV:
Do you see many TV commercials for foreign companies in your country? Are American products popular in your country? Have you ever seen a Chevy “Sonic”?
The 「最高経営責任者」 (Chief Executive Officer (CEO)) of one of America’s automobile corporation, Dan Akerson, unveiled the latest model of the Chevrolet electric hybrid car called the “Volt“.
GM's Chevrolet "Volt"
At the unveiling of his company’s car, Mr. Akerson decided to express his opinion of Toyota Motor‘s hybrid car, the “Prius“.
He called Japan’s Prius a “geek-mobile” (かっこ悪い車) and he said that he wouldn’t be caught dead in one.
I wouldn’t be caught dead in a (Toyota) Prius.
– Dan Akerson, General Motors C.E.O.
The Toyota Prius doesn’t look “geeky” to me. What do you think?
Which do you think is nicer, the Chevy “Volt” or the Toyota “Prius”?
It snowed again in Tokyo the day before yesterday. There was only a few centimeters of snow on the ground when it stopped snowing at around 9:00AM…and it was all melted away by that afternoon.
But I took a few photos of the snow with my cell-phone camera while I was on my way to work.
At the train station
The weather was much nicer yesterday and this week’s forecast says it’ll be sunny everyday. 🙂
I considered writing a post about:
the news that the Australian government is trying to force Japan to end it’s whaling,
or about Toyota Motor Company‘s recent problems with massive car recalls around the world and the news that the company’s president will be traveling to America soon to testify before the U.S. Congress,
or that the Japanese Olympic team got their third medal yesterday…this one in Men’s Figure Skating (Click here to see Japan’s 2010 Olympic medalists…and here to see the total number of medals each country has so far.)
But there’s enough written on the internet about all of those stories already.
I want to write about someone that you probably haven’t heard of.
「比田井隆」 (Takashi Hidai).
He’s a member of Japan’s 2010 パラリンピックス (Paralympic) “Wheelchair Curling Team“.
「比田井隆」 (Takashi Hidai)
Do you know what the パラリンピックス (Paralympics) is?
It’s the Olympics games for athletes who are physically handicapped or blind.
These games are sometimes confused with the “Special Olympics“…which are the games for athletes who are mentally handicapped.
I think the athletes who participate in both the Paralympics and the Special Olympics are amazing.
As I said Takashi Hidai will be participating in the 2010 Paralympics Games, which will be held in Vancouver, Canada from 2010 March 12 – 21. Shortly after the “regular” Olympic Games are over.
I heard about Takashi Hidai in the Japanese news.
He’s 75-year-old. The oldest person to ever join the Japanese Paralympics Team.
When he was 31 years old, he was working in Tokyo as an electrician on a construction site when suddenly a crane fell over on top of him and fractured his spine…paralyzing him from the waist down.
He credits the love of his wife and daughter (who was three years old at the time) with helping maintain his positive attitude after his tragedy.
About ten years after the accident, someone at the physical rehabilitation center that he was a patient at suggested he try his hand at archery.
His family agreed that it sounded like a good idea so he bought a bow and practiced earnestly.
He enjoyed it alot and became skilled at it and in 1980, he entered the National Archery Competition…competing against non-handicapped archers.
About five years ago, an acquaintance who participated in a local Wheelchair Curling workshop suggested Mr. Hidai try it.
He doubted that he would be able to maneuver his wheelchair on ice at the age of seventy…let alone compete in such a sport against people forty or fifty years younger than him.
But he went ahead and tried it and found that he really enjoys it…not to mention, excels at it.
Mr. Hidai also went to England in 2005 to compete in the World Archery Championship.
He said “Being 70 years old (at the time), I was really surprised to make it to the World Championships!”
But fate dealt Takashi Hidai another blow.
His daughter, whom he said constantly encouraged him with a smile, died nineteen years ago of cancer.
She was only 28 years old and had just became a mother only six-months prior.
He wishes she was still here to encourage him when he plays at the 2010 Paralympics in Canada next month.
In America and China many 「トヨタ」 (Toyota) cars are being recalled because there’s a possibility that an ill-fitting floor mat can cause the accelerator pedal to stick which could cause an accident.
And now 「ホンダ」 (Honda) cars overseas are being recalled too.
I heard that Toyota and Honda dealers in those countries are losing a lot of potential business because the public has become hesitant to trust the safety of those cars now.
「トヨタ」 (Toyota)
「ホンダ」 (Honda)
This issue isn’t an issue at all in Japan.
Most Japanese feel that the cars being recalled overseas are different because they were made in America or China.
Japanese cars in Japan are made here…and anything “Made in Japan” is seen as superior in quality and safety.
So, Toyota and Honda dealers here in Japan aren’t feeling the affects of the recall overseas at all.
In fact, Toyota is the best-selling car in Japan…and has been for many years.
Has your image of Japanese cars changed because of this recall?
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On a totally unrelated subject…
I found out that Gene Simmons (of the rock band KISS) did a TV commercial in America for the Dr. Pepper soft drink.
His son is also in the commercial.
As I don’t live in America, I don’t normally watch America TV…but thanks to the internet in general, and YouTube specifically, I was able to see it.
It’s here:
Do you live in America? Have you seen this commercial on TV before?
In Japan, KISS has done a few TV commercials too.
I wrote a post about them last year. Click here to see that post.
Some items I’ve heard on the news recently:
Tokyo Five 
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