The Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA) announced its partnership with the Toyota Group in 2025. We asked Board Member Yutaka Inaba why CEIPA was formed and what it hopes the Toyota Group will bring.
Cars and music: overlapping cultures
Now, in this year’s Toyota New Year’s address, Chairman Toyoda listed “promoting cultural activities” as the third of the things he must do as chairman.
Last year brought not only the collaboration with CEIPA but also THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA, among other cultural initiatives. But Toyota’s cultural activities did not begin last year.
In music, Toyota Community Concerts, a program run with dealers to support amateur orchestras active in their communities, began in 1981 and will mark its 2,000th performance at a Tokyo concert in February 2027. Toyota also regularly hosts Toyota Master Players, Wien (TOMAS), a concert tour centered on members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Turn to the visual arts, and there is the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest, which nurtures children’s imaginations; last year, it drew entries from 90 countries and regions. And at Toyota Arena Tokyo (Koto-ku, Tokyo), the main venue for MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026, the signage and Toyota’s company cars feature Able Art, artwork created by people with disabilities.
Activities like these may seem far removed from carmaking. But what Toyota is striving for is “Producing Happiness for All” and a society where no one is left behind. The collaboration with CEIPA and THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA fit into that same broader effort.
And speaking of culture, when Chairman Toyoda took office as chairman of the Automobile Business & Culture Association of Japan, one of the first messages he emphasized in his speech was the association’s slogan, “Making cars the pride of Japanese culture.”
How does Inaba see these moves?
CEIPA Board Member Inaba
I’m deeply grateful, and I take it very seriously.
I don’t think it would be right for CEIPA to give back merely by turning its activities into promotion for the Toyota Group’s business, or into straightforward marketing.
The Toyota Group, and Toyota itself, talk about cars as culture, I believe. Music, too, is both entertainment and culture.
Cars have their own culture, and so does entertainment. My hope is that by continuing to build deeper, multilayered collaboration around culture, cars and entertainment will become one, seen around the world as part of Japanese culture.
So Chairman Toyoda’s words and perspective ring true to me, and I find them deeply encouraging.
What’s in store at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026?
The MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026 ceremony takes place on June 13. Which artists and works will be chosen from all 78 categories? (See the nominated works and artists here)
In the run-up to the ceremony, MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN WEEK has been building momentum since June 5, with events ranging from an online festival on YouTube to in-person live shows and seminars for people aiming to work in the music industry.
“One reason we hold MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN is the hope that it becomes a platform where Japanese artists and artists from around the world can interact more and build stronger connections. I hope people can feel that aspect of the awards as well.”
As Inaba spoke, the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN badge on his chest caught the light.
Cars and music are inseparable
Incidentally, Inaba says he always has music playing whenever he travels by car.
“Cars and music simply cannot be separated. When I turned 18, I got my license and borrowed my dad’s car, and music was a must in that car.” The car, we are told, was a Volkswagen Golf.
Music is now his job. But the car, he tells us, remains a place where he can be alone and focus, and that is where he listens to the latest music trends.