Akio

I meet with the people in charge [of the “Woven City” project] every three weeks to confirm the direction.

I make decisions on the spot, based on the latest information available, but the rule we have is that it is okay if the decision that I make [that day] is different from what we decided three weeks ago.

The important thing is that we make the most appropriate decision every time we have this meeting, based on the latest situation.

Akio

What is most important is that the area we will be using is where Toyota Motor Corporation East Japan’s Higashi Fuji Plant is currently up and operating.

This plant is scheduled to close next month. As for the employees – some have transferred to the Tohoku Plant. Unfortunately, there are employees who may not be able to move for family or other reasons. For those employees, we are helping them find new jobs.

We have been working with the cooperation of the community and also with the suppliers nearby, trying to stand by each and every individual working in the Higashi Fuji Plant to try to secure a place for them to work.

Akio

I previously mentioned that the groundbreaking [for Woven City] would happen next year, and I was told by the public relations team to not offer any specific dates.

But I'd like to say that I want to set the commencement date to be February 23. The reason why it's February 23 is because it's 2-2-3. When you read that date in Japanese, it reads Fuji-san (or Mt. Fuji). So, this date feels like it could fit well with the project.

We are building our new city at the base of Mt. Fuji. And I'd like to tell everyone that we're preparing for this to happen on February 23.

What will happen here at this site? Well, for us, we have announced that we are in the process of transitioning into a mobility company. So, we are planning to utilize this location to develop products that can be of value in the future.

One such product will most likely be automated vehicles.

However, we do not merely want to develop an automated vehicle, but develop one that is integrated into the city’s infrastructure. By having the vehicle integrated with the infrastructure, the speed of development should also accelerate significantly.

Within that, I think it is big news for me to say that we have created one of the basic units that will be used to create Woven City.

The basic unit mentioned is in reference to one block of the city, set to be 150 meters by 150 meters. The unit will have three roads “woven” at ground level and one underground.

Of the three roads at ground level, one will be a road dedicated solely for autonomous vehicles. Another [above ground] road will be dedicated for pedestrians, and the third [above ground] road will be shared by small mobility and pedestrians.

Doing this will make it much easier to secure the level of safety needed for autonomous driving vehicles.

On the ground level, as one would expect, there'll be different weather conditions, including sunny, rainy, hot, and cold. The conditions of the [above ground] roads change depending on the weather conditions. But underground, we can test vehicles without changes in road conditions caused by the weather.

The ground level will have roads for the movement of people, but the underground will be for the movement of goods. Since underground road conditions will not change, that road can be used for testing the simplest level of automated driving.

Akio

We're thinking of having around 360 residents living in this city composed of three roads. The residents will consist of elderly people, families and inventors. In a sense, the elderly people and families, I believe, are the main demographic groups that are facing social challenges.

We want to have the inventors living together with the aforementioned demographics so that they would be able to invent things that will be helpful to resolving the challenges that the elderly and families face.

These inventors will have a set period of time where they can work on their mission. Then, if they cannot produce results in that period of time, they will be replaced by other inventors. As such, we're trying to build a mechanism to allow this place to always be actively innovating.

Currently, we have received applications from about 3,000 individuals and corporations who want to become a partner with us for Woven City.

Because the Woven City Project is a “living laboratory”, it will be an ever-evolving city that will never truly be considered “finished”.

Our ultimate goal is to develop safe mobility. And we want to be centered on people.

So we want future mobility to be created together with infrastructure. In order to do that, we, as an automobile company cannot do it alone, and so we are recruiting as many partners as possible.

As an unfinished city, we ask for your understanding that it will be an ever-evolving living laboratory, and I'd like you all to participate in any way that you can. We want to create the future together with you. Please continue to look forward to more on this project.