Rooting Establishment in Earthquake-Stricken Tohoku: A Decade Later (Part 1)
In a recent visit to the Tohoku region, Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, expressed his ongoing support for the region's reconstruction and electrification efforts.
During his tour, Toyoda inspected the Miyagi Plant of Primearth EV Energy (PEVE), a hybrid battery manufacturer and Toyota subsidiary, which is a world leader in hybrid battery output. The visit underscored the significance of the plant in the electrification of automobiles.
Toyota and PEVE have been working together for a decade, and Toyoda expressed his appreciation for the employees' hard work and ability to increase productivity with their current people and production lines. He valued the spirit of continuous improvement and steady progress, hoping that the collaboration between the two companies would continue to take on the challenges of the future.
The Miyagi Plant of PEVE was flooded in February 2021 due to damaged pipes, but recovery was completed in about one week. The employees worked diligently to sort by hand the batteries that got wet and those that did not, ensuring that their work would "never cause our customers any inconvenience."
The Tohoku region has become a major base for the production of compact cars, including the Yaris, which won the European Car of the Year 2021 award. The number of battery plants that form the core of the electrification in Tohoku has increased from one to seven.
Toyota Motor East Japan (TMEJ), a company formed by the merger of Kanto Auto Works, Central Motor, and Toyota Motor Tohoku in 2012, has also grown significantly. The number of TMEJ employees in the Tohoku region has increased from 3,100 in 2010 to 4,500 in 2019.
Toyota and one other company are the only companies in the world to produce batteries in-house. The shipment value of TMEJ's products has increased from 30 billion yen (in 2011) to 800 billion yen (in 2019).
In 2013, TMEJ opened the in-house Toyota East Japan Technical Skills Academy to support the growth of human resources who play a central role in manufacturing in the Tohoku region.
Akio Toyoda's commitment to Tohoku is not new. He has been visiting the disaster-stricken areas of Tohoku every year since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. During these visits, he often talks to employees, checking on their work and families' situations. He values having an "old man" by his side during inspections, as they can provide insights into the problems at the worksite.
In a long-span decision, Toyoda made an enormous commitment to support the reconstruction of the devastated Tohoku region ten years after the disaster. His visits and investments reflect his belief in the region's potential and his dedication to its revitalization.
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