JAMA's chairman and vice chairmen are certainly passionate about cars! At the Japan Mobility Show (JMS) 2025, they shared stories of their beloved rides.
The Japan Mobility Show (JMS) 2025, held at Tokyo Big Sight, featured not only exhibits from various automakers but also a program packed with special events.
Before the show opened to the public on October 30, the chairman and six vice chairmen of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) gathered for a spirited discussion on the theme of “love for mobility.”
On this day, the chairmen swapped the usual suit-and-tie attire of JAMA press conferences for the clothes they actually wear when going for a drive. With their beloved cars and motorcycles displayed in front of them, the panel members eagerly shared what they love about each vehicle and why.
More work, more love
Vice Chairman Koji Sato (Toyota) presented his 1988 first-generation MR2*, Japan’s first compact passenger car with a midship engine layout.
*Debuted in 1984.
After acquiring the car from its previous owner in 2024, Sato spent the next year restoring it. This summer, the dream of taking his MR2 for a spin finally came true. There was only one catch…
Vice Chairman Sato
Back then, air conditioning was still an optional extra.
(Moderator) It doesn’t have AC?
This car doesn’t actually have air conditioning. And this summer was extremely hot, wasn’t it? But I was desperate to drive it. Driving without AC, I overheated before the car did (laughs).
Still, it’s a great car. Japan’s first mass-produced midship model.
On a past episode of Toyota Times News, President Sato told us, “My love of cars is more about making them.” When the session’s moderator suggested, “There’s a certain pleasure in those small inconveniences, and the effort required, isn’t there?” he replied, “The way they seem to have a mind of their own, I love that—in some ways, it’s kind of like raising children.”
Vice Chairman Toshihiro Suzuki (Suzuki) introduced the Mame-Tan (left) and the original Alto (right), his first car after graduating from university.
Launched in 1979, the first-generation Alto revived a flagging Kei-car market, firmly establishing the position these compact vehicles hold today. For this contribution, in 2024 it was selected as a “Historic Car of Japan” by the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame.
Certainly an epoch-making car for the company, the Alto was also a big part of Vice Chairman Suzuki’s youth.
He shared memories of going for drives with a special someone beside him in the passenger seat.
“Cars now have rearview monitors, but back then you’d reach your hand around the passenger seat to look behind. And then, well… (laughs).”
The passenger seat puts you shoulder to shoulder with the person beside you. “In the driver’s seat, my heart was pounding,” Suzuki admitted.
The first two hundred kilometers
While Vice Chairmen Sato and Suzuki spoke about classic rides of yesteryear, Honda’s Toshihiro Mibe showcased the company’s latest—the new sixth-generation Prelude released in September, 25 years after the previous iteration. Vice Chairman Mibe himself was involved in development from the earliest stages.
He spoke passionately about this vehicle at the JMS press conference, saying, “When I first became president, I was determined to develop a stylish car that embodies Honda today.”
The Prelude on display during the talk session had reached Vice Chairman Mibe only two weeks earlier. Even so, he had already logged about 200 kilometers (or as he put it, “only 200 kilometers.”)
Vice Chairman Ivan Espinosa (Nissan) selected the Fairlady Z as “a car that thrilled me the first time I drove it in my youth.”
The one he uses for commuting and daily travel is a left-hand-drive vehicle. Refusing to jump the line for this popular model in Japan, Espinosa secured one by reaching out to Nissan’s distributors in California instead. “But it just arrived from Japan…” came the bewildered reply.
For Vice Chairman Espinosa, driving to work is “like a ritual that helps me refresh.”
For his part, Vice Chairman Motofumi Shitara (Yamaha) brought along two motorcycles: his old RZ250 (left) and the current bike of choice, the XSR900 (right).
After placing his order for the XSR900, Shitara waited around a year to receive it; as always, customers came first. During that time, he was appointed Yamaha’s president, so despite getting his hands on the bike, he now has far fewer chances to ride. “I can’t wait to get it out on the open road,” he remarked with a sigh.
With more than four decades in the truck industry, JAMA Chairman Masanori Katayama (Isuzu) spoke about the Travio camper, which made its global debut last year.
He describes it as his “future dream car,” hoping to spend his retirement traveling around Japan with his grandchildren.
