Thanks to many people, Toyota Motor Corporation was able to greet its 75th anniversary this year. Support from our customers around the world, our suppliers, our dealers and our partner companies and the efforts of our employees are a true gift for which I am sincerely grateful.
Our founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, inherited the spirit of being studious and creative from his father Sakichi. At the beginning of the Showa Period (1926-1989), when Japan was poor, wanting to make the country prosperous like the United States and Europe through conscientious manufacturing was a desire common among many that can be said to reflect the spirit of the times. However, the difference between contemplation and implementation is as wide as that between night and day. Those who seriously took up the challenge of entering the automobile industry were extremely few.
At the time, our forebears had neither the basic know-how nor the support of related companies like those today that have outstanding technologies. As such, they took it upon themselves to study every aspect of automobile production and to make each and every part, one by one. In doing so, Kiichiro thoroughly applied the principle of genchi genbutsu (going and seeing for oneself). Seeing the dirty and greasy hands of plant technicians was said to have put Kiichiro in a good mood. Emphasizing that the company's accomplishment was the result of a team struggle, Kiichiro once said: "Automobiles don't just come about as the result of a single engineer's hobby. What we have created was born of painstaking research and knowledge accumulated in various fields by many people, and of efforts and numerous failures spanning long years."
Be that as it may, the actual production site was in a constant state of trial and error. Parts made in the morning were turned into waste by design changes made in the evening. It was under such conditions of workplace distress that the just-in-time production approach of making only what was needed, only when it was needed and only in the amount needed was given its beginnings.
From there, under an aim to produce quality and affordable products, the climate for accumulating daily kaizen (continuous improvements) began to take root at production sites. The philosophy that makes such possible is "Respect for People". Honestly make diligent and steady effort, and cultivate people so that they can think on their own and improve the workplace. That is what is meant when Toyota says: "Making things means making people."
In the mid-1980s, full-scale manufacturing by Toyota began in the United States, and our production bases suddenly began to span the globe. At every stage of Toyota's transformation into a global company, we encountered different senses of value and, at times, found difficulty in keeping our bearing. But we always felt our way through to open the way forward. Good fortune may have played a part, but I believe our success is also due to the fact that Kiichiro's spirit at the time our foundation and the corporate climate built by our predecessors were fundamentals that were globally accepted. Today, Toyota people around the world understand and practice the Toyota Way and are taking on the challenge of engaging in high-quality automobile production every day, a fact that fills me with sincere joy and peace of mind.
Toyota intends to continue endeavoring to contribute to the economic and social prosperity of countries around the world through the manufacturing of good and affordable automobiles. On the occasion of the publication of our 75-year corporate history, to all related parties, I want to thank you again for the past 75 years, and I humbly request your continued support.