Tomikawa

I would like to ask Akio a straightforward question. What made you think that Mr. Sato is suitable to be the next president?

Akio

First of all, I think it is his youth. And his love of cars. He loves to make cars that make master drivers smile. I see these two things as the minimum requirements.

And, to give another reason, he is a person who has made great efforts to embrace Toyota’s philosophy, skills, and conduct in the car-making genba. I have seen that many times.

I wanted the person in Toyota’s top position to embody these at the genba level. In that sense, I think he is well-suited for the job.

I’d like to add one more thing, and I have told him this directly. He should avoid trying to manage the company by himself. Run it as a team.

I want him to build a new team that will figure things out together and work together to get it done.

Tomikawa

Although I’ve only been watching you closely for less than a year, I see you as a person with finely-tuned sensors. When you feel “This is it!” you act immediately. I feel that this is a strength of Toyota, and I wonder if those sensors were at work this time as well.

Akio

Rather than titles, I always look at it in terms of roles and positioning people to make the most of their personalities.

I see my successor as being all 370,000 Toyota employees working as a team, within which I think he would be a good choice for the role of president.

What gave Sato a big push was taking over from me as chief branding officer. I think he transformed Lexus, opening up a new chapter.

He also has many engineers around him. While some people are keen to work with Morizo, in a large company, there are also those who don’t want to be too close.

As we transform into a mobility company, I’ve managed to pull us this far with the skills I have. But for Toyota to grow more sustainably and autonomously, we need a team consisting of the right people working together at some distance from me. I think that’s the way forward.

That’s where youth comes in. You can expect big things from the new team.

Sato

It was after the race in Thailand (last December). Actually, there was nothing ceremonial about it, and our conversation served as the formal notice.

But since then, we have spent a lot of time—sometimes face-to-face and sometimes using online communication tools like LINE and Slack—discussing what’s been on Akio’s mind as the head of Toyota, and what we see as the current challenges, in preparation for launching the new management structure.

I believe this communication with President Toyoda is laying the groundwork for a practical transition.

I would also like to touch on how I felt about being appointed to the position of CEO.

Toyota is a global company. We are closely connected to each region and its customers while producing cars on a global scale. I felt I was being reminded not to forget that fact.

And that, as the head of this company, I would have to give my all for Toyota’s 370,000 employees. Car-making is a team effort. You can’t do anything alone. Even if just one person is missing, you can’t make a car.

Toyota’s greatest asset is its employees—its people. I believe that President Akio’s approach in this position is to meet people eye-to-eye, and I am doing my utmost to ensure that I can do the same.