Number132ndIssue date

27-Dec-21

Thank you for your assistance this year （this section has been quoted from President Komaba'smessage.）
Amid the ferocious COVID-19 pandemic that we have been battling since last year, Japan rescinded its
second State of Emergency in January and then had repeated emergencies instated and rescindedfollowing this, but our peak of 25,000 infections per day in August calmed down from November in a
dramatic decrease, which led to daily infections being recorded in the 100s.
However, infections are once again on the rise due to the new omicron variant, and there are currently
concerns over whether or not we can inoculate everybody with a third booster shot of vaccine.
News from around the world revealed that America’s presidential elect, Joe Biden, was appointed
president in January. In August, America withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, and the Taliban once
again took control of the country. In November, Olaf Scholz was sworn in as Germany's new Chancellor.
In the field of sports, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games were held in August. It was a big relief
that these ended without any dramatic problems, considering that it was hosted when Japan wasexperiencing its peak in COVID-19 infections.
Japan’s economy began to gradually recover after crashing as a result of the risks involved with theCOVID-19 pandemic. According to the Quarterly Estimate of GDP issued by the Cabinet Office (onDecember 8th), year-on-year GDP figures for January to March 2021 were down by 1.9%, April to Junefigures were up by 6.1%, and July to September figures saw no change in percentage points, which inreal terms means a reduction of 1.8% for January to March, a 7.3% increase for April to June, and a 1.2%
increase for July to September.
However, the reason for the July to September period seeing minus figures over the same period in theprevious year are due to, (1) Pressure on oceangoing distribution, (2) Restrictions on supplies
throughout the supply chain due increases in COVID-19 infections in developed nations, and (3) A
shortage of semiconductors. Although problems (1) and (2) are expected to be resolved in stages as weenter 2022, it will be difficult to resolve problem (3) in the short term, and this situation is forecast tocontinue into 2022.
Although demand within the automotive industry has returned to normal in comparison to last year, thelack of components due to problems (2) and (3) listed above have resulted in a drastic reduction ofproduction since July, and a shortage of supplies in relation to vehicle demand will continue into thebeginning of next year.
With regard to the aim of zero emissions, it has been clarified that all vehicles in Europe will be EVs
between 2030 and 2040, and Japan’s automobile manufacturers are moving ahead with establishing aframework of options that cover EVs, FCVs, PHEVs and hydrogen engines, etc. A spokesperson for aJapanese company, which has a high ratio of sales among developed countries in comparison toEuropean countries, which are focusing more on sales to markets that already have an infrastructure inplace, is quoted as saying, “We are not a company that solicits EVs, but a company that supplies themost suitable vehicles to environments in which they are practical, sustainable and easily purchasableon markets in nations with different power supply structures, infrastructures and government systems,etc.”
And lastly, KSK has achieved a wide range of Kaizen results amid an environment in which it is notpossible to promote our creative Kaizen system and allow small group activities to take place. We havealso launched startup activities as a new set of initiatives while carrying out our regular business affairs,
and we are currently moving ahead with the development of air sterilization purifiers, the installation of
3D printers and the development of products, and the development of lithium-ion batteries.
In addition to focusing on our customers in the automotive industry, we will also leave no stone
unturned in the coming year to ensure that we are able to contribute to a broad range of customers
throughout the world.
Thank you all very much for your assistance over the course of the past year. I am sincerely grateful. I
look forward to your continued support in the coming year.

Automotive area (Who is the enemy and what are its true intentions?: Toyota’s new EV strategies
aimed at selling 3.5 million units)
To be honest, I was shocked. Toyota Motors (hereinafter “Toyota”) announcement of its new EVstrategies released on December 14th, 2021, came as a big surprise. However, the news that shocked
this journalist the most was not the earnest shift across to EVs that Toyota showed us. It was its
formidable PR strategy. The general impression this left was “is Toyota, which has always aimed atsilencing the media, really giving us a straight announcement?”
Is Toyota Aiming at Wiping Clean its Image of Infiltrating the Media?
It was announced that Toyota’s target for EV sales by 2030 is 3.5 million units per year. This target adds1.5 million units to its 2-million unit target (EVs + FCVs) that was indicated in September 2021. In otherwords, does Toyota really think that it can sell 3.5 million units? A spokesperson for Toyota said, “We are
not really sure if it is possible to sell 3.5 million units. However, as long as there are customers who wantEVs, Toyota intends to do everything it can to cater to these requirements.” A former Toyota employee
let slip that “I doubt if Toyota really believes that it can sell 3.5 million units.” Vehicles are chosen inaccordance with customer decisions. If there really is a worldwide shift across to EVs by 2030 and thenumber of customers who wish to buy them increases explosively, then Toyota will manufacture up to
3.5 million units to meet demand. However, if this shift across to EVs fails to move ahead as expected,
there is a chance that a target of 3.5 million units is an unassailable goal… This journalist felt that this is acorrect interpretation of Toyota’s claim of “aiming for 3.5 million units in sales.” However, no phrasesindicating that they “may not be able to meet this target” or that they were “not declaring that thisnumber would be sold” were actively included in the press conference, so it was seen as a declaration of
introducing a full lineup of EVs covering thirty models, from passenger vehicles through to commercial
vehicles, to be released onto the market by the year 2030. Of these, sixteen models were revealed intheir actual form, although most of these were thought to have been mockups. It appears that most of
the media personnel who were in attendance felt that Toyota was at last getting serious about EVs, andthe number of articles that included this in their title line stood out. Toyota has been concerned up until
now that the “message we wish to state is not getting across to the media.” This probably means thatthey have been searching for a method to get the media to believe that their stance on EVs is proactive
without a shadow of doubt. The result of this was an easily understood presentation that actually
pointed to audacious figures and a large number of vehicles, and the announcement was designed toprovide transparency indicating that Toyota’s stance toward EVs is not regressive.
Probably, the fact that EVs may not sell as well as touted was held close to their chests. This journalist
was therefore shocked at the formidability of Toyota on pushing so hard with this announcement inorder to wipe clean their image of actively infiltrating the media with regard to EVs.
During a question-and-answer session for journalists during thepress conference, president Toyoda said that “if you don’t thinkthat 3.5 million units and thirty models is proactive enough, I’dlike to tell us exactly what we need to do for you to evaluate us asproactive.” Hidden behind these words is Toyota’s true intentionof stating “So, how about 3.5 million units sold every year acrossthirty models? Don’t you ever say that Toyota is regressiveagain!” This was the feeling that I received when seeing theSource: XTECH
broad grin spread across president Toyoda’s face.
Keihin Seimitsu Kogyo (ISO14001 surveillance)Continuing on from last month’s IATF16949 surveillance activities, ISO14001 surveillance activities wereimplemented in Hokkaido on December 1st, and in the head office and Kanuma Plant between
December 21st and 22nd.
Each branch began preparing for this in the early stages, and it was confirmed that all appropriate
measures had been implemented to meet all requirements, and that improvements are constantly being
made to ensure efficient operations.
The result of this is that all activities were completed without problem, with surveillance only being
carried out on certain areas.

Post-editorial Notes: (Looking back over the past year and thoughts on Japan’s general election andAmerica’s presidential election—the scars remaining from the American Civil War)Looking back over the course of the past year, I was most disappointed in the rule established by theLiberal Democratic Party in September in which there is no change to general elections being a closed
environment in which the prime minister of Japan is able to slide into his or her position under thedecision of only Diet representatives of the ruling party (although we are able to watch it on TV), which I
felt was a timeworn strategy that prevents everybody being able to take part in stark comparison toAmerica’s presidential election, which was a huge event held in January that was both open andextremely exciting.
Despite this, the author, who had lived in America, also got the feeling that there are various elementsof ambiguity present in American people (a race that I am particularly fond of). Although the level ofachieving the SDGs is rather low throughout, there are still large and dark differences particularly in Goal
#10 with regard to relations between African-Americans and white Americans, and between theDemocratic party and Republican party.
There are many extremely eminent African-Americans in the US, including former president Obama andthe general manager of General Motors, etc., who I have met.
Known as the Black Lives Matter movement ever since a police officer violently killed a black man in Mayof last year, it is extremely regrettable that the overall dignity of racism has been dragged down due to avery small number of violent criminals (poverty-stricken people with nothing to lose).
Another area of deep darkness is the battle between conservatives (Republicans) and liberals(Democrats) that has divided the country.
Although ideologies have changed since the American Civil War, I can’t help but feel that current
actuality has a very close resemblance to this.
The frank and spirited men and the high-tension girls who worked hard like the girls from Japan’s Osakanever discussed which political party they supported. I always got the feeling that this didn’t strike achord within them.
The American Civil War started in 1861 between the Union states (North: 23 northern states, 22 million
people) who were in agreement with the government to end slavery, and the Confederate states (South:11 southern states, 9 million people) who wanted to continue slavery and supported succession fromthe country by establishing independence for their states, etc. Spurred on by Abraham Lincoln’s call for“Government of the people, by the people, for the people,” the North launched its attack, bringing
about the downfall of the Confederacy and ending the war in Richmond, the capital city of the southernarmy, in April 1965, thereby reconstructing all states back into the Union.
I get the feeling that America, that nation capable of coming together as one in a startling manner intimes of emergency, still smolders with differences of opinion over the Civil War even now, more than
150 years later. Even today, the country is divided into the large numbers of pious Christianconservatives mainly occupying the Midwest and Southern states who support the Republican Party andthe liberals promoting freedom mainly occupying the east and west coasts of the country who support
the Democratic Party, and I feel that the concept of electing total idiots like Donald Trump to thepresidency because “he is the Republican nominee” is the motivating force behind this division.
I sincerely hope that now Joe Biden has been elected president the country will once again “promotewhat is right for the world (not only America) in a straightforward manner” and receive the respect itdeserves.
<Postscript>
The deepest impression that former president Obama left on the author was when he was the first US
president in office to visit Hiroshima in May 2016.
The memory that is deeply ingrained in my mind is when he visited the area on which America dropped
the atomic bomb and called for the abolishment of nuclear weapons and embraced the representativeof the victims. He expressed the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in a literary manner by saying, “death fell
from the sky and the world was changed.” Although he did not actually offer an apology, he displayed
great courage in going against all previous US presidents and visiting the area, which made me realize
what a great man he was.