Keidanren's Committee on Mobility met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the JAPAN MOBILITY SHOW to discuss how the public and private sectors can come together to create the future.
On October 26, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida toured the JAPAN MOBILITY SHOW at Tokyo Big Sight.
This visit also provided an opportunity to meet with the chairmen of Keidanren’s Committee on Mobility and vice chairmen from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA).
They exchanged opinions on the high-priority challenges that the private and public sectors must tackle together for the mobility industry to drive Japan’s economy.
Putting Japan at the forefront of international competition
At the meeting, the committee made specific requests for government support to help place Japan’s mobility industry at the forefront of global competition. These included establishing an investment environment to rival those of other countries, boosting investment in the small and midsized enterprises that underpin supply chains, and addressing antitrust-related issues affecting partnerships in green transformation investing.
The committee also conveyed the focused resolve of the Japanese industry as it works to overcome the 2024 problem in logistics and secure semiconductors, batteries, and other critical inputs. Prime Minister Kishida commented that “both issues are of the highest priority for our country, and we will do our utmost to address them through public-private cooperation.”
“Let’s create the future through mobility”
Discussions between the national government and the Committee on Mobility kicked off last November, with this being the second such meeting.
The previous session focused on reaching a shared understanding of the auto industry’s contributions to Japan’s economy and employment, as well as its vision for the growth of the mobility sector. This time marked a further step in confronting the mobility industry’s challenges.
Summing up the exchange, Chairman Toyoda told reporters, “I feel like this was the start of something—let’s create the future through mobility.” He continued:
Chairman Toyoda
Keidanren formed its Committee on Mobility under the leadership of (Keidanren) Chairman Tokura.
While companies cannot singlehandedly create the future, I believe the momentum is growing through cooperation—if we do what we can right now to tackle the current difficulties and concerns, a way forward will open.
Through these opportunities to meet with the Prime Minister, we have been able to explore how the national government and industry, led by Keidanren, can work collectively rather than individually to build the future.
As the organizers of the JAPAN MOBILITY SHOW, we believe the event has spurred this process by allowing people to see and discuss things directly.
As part of his visit, before the discussion, Prime Minister Kishida experienced the future of mobility at the Tokyo Future Tour.
This included a show demonstrating how mobility solutions can assist people in disaster-prone Japan, along with exhibits by startups working to expand the potential of mobility.
“As befits its new name*, the event provides both domestic and international audiences with a great sense of the mobility sector’s future vision, extending beyond the automotive industry, as well as the vitality and future of our startups,” the Prime Minister commented.
*The Tokyo Motor Show was renamed the JAPAN MOBILITY SHOW to reflect the fact that it brings together mobility-related companies from beyond the auto industry, seeking to share Japan’s future vision with the world.