TOKYO: A memorial ceremony was held in Tokyo on Monday for the late Toyota Motor Corp. Honorary Chairman Shoichiro Toyoda, who died at 97 in February.

The ceremony was hosted by 17 Toyota group companies. Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda, the eldest son of the late honorary chairman, led the event.

“We pledge to take on Toyota’s craftsmanship and human resources development for better products by studying and working harder,” Akio said as a representative of the company’s founding family.

The ceremony was joined by individuals from political and economic circles, including Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio.

According to Toyota, about 2,900 people attended the ceremony in Tokyo, including relatives and dignitaries from abroad.

Floral tributes were accepted at venues in the cities of Nagoya and Toyota, both in the central prefecture of Aichi, where the leading Japanese automaker has its headquarters. Including visitors to these venues, the number of participants stood at some 4,500.

As company president, Shoichiro promoted vehicle production in the United States, establishing a foothold for Toyota to become a global automaker.

As chairman of the former Keidanren, whose successor body is officially called the Japan Business Federation, he called for structural reform in Japan mainly through deregulation while engaging in private-sector diplomacy.

JIJI Press