- Address at the Press Conference for the Inauguration of the President at the Annual
Meeting on May 23, 2024 –I am Takashi Kayamoto, and I have been appointed Chairman of the Japan Auto PartsIndustries Association (JAPIA). It is a great challenge for me to continue the path of mypredecessors who have supported the Japanese automobile industry for more than 80years.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to former President, Mr.Arima for his strong
leadership. He has made great efforts to expand the circle of “cooperation and empathy”
at the level of “mobility industry,” which includes not only the automobile industry but
also related industries. Once again, I would like to express my sincere appreciation
and respect.
The automotive parts industry has a total shipment value of 35 trillion yen, which
accounts for 60% of the entire automotive industry, and the number of employees is670,000 compared to 180,000 for car manufacturers, with over 6,500 companies
closely involved and supporting each other. At present, we JAPIA have 440 member
companies, including leaders in both field and region of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotivecomponents industry. JAPIA and its member companies are expected to serve as anexus between automobile manufacturers and suppliers, and the many small andmedium-sized companies connected to them. I would like to reaffirm the mission that
JAPIA should fulfill and, while engaging in dialogue with our member companies, I will
act with “cooperation” and “collaboration” as JAPIA. Specifically, we would like topromote activities from the following three perspectives in response to the priority
themes explained in this year's activity plan.
The first is to contribute firmly to the construction and development of the mobility
society of the future while aiming to build a sustainable society through activities thatmeet the demands of society, including CN and CE.
The second is to work to maintain and strengthen a healthy supply chain, including
small and medium-sized enterprises. Today, all workers in Japan, not just those in theautomotive industry, are expected to receive adequate compensation. The key to thisis to buy at the right price, make good products at the right price, and sell at the rightprice, truly achieving fair trade. Receiving fair compensation is also necessary for thevarious issues that JAPIA must address. The virtuous cycle created by investing
appropriate compensation in human resources and new technologies will help solve
social problems and further strengthen the competitiveness of the entire supply chain.
Recently, companies in the automotive industry have been accused of violating theSubcontracting Law, and JAPIA takes this situation very seriously and calls on ourmember companies to once again “straighten up” their act. Specifically, we will ask ourmember companies to re-enforce compliance with the Subcontract Act and strive toprevent violations, and in cooperation with JAMA, we will strive to appropriately pass
on higher raw material and energy costs to product prices and labor costs to purchaseprices through discussions with our suppliers. JAPIA will continue to work with JAMA
to “straighten up” and promote and disseminate appropriate transactions throughout
the supply chain based on legal compliance.
The third is to strengthen cooperation with the government and related organizations.
In addition to the initiatives for appropriate trade that I just mentioned, JAPIA will work
together the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and other relevant ministries, theJapan Automobile Manufacturers Association, the five automobile organizations, thematerials associations, the Federation of Automobile Manufacturers Associations tofurther strengthen cooperation to achieve common goals and resolve issues.
The environment surrounding JAPIA continues to change dramatically. We believe thatthe pace of change will continue to increase and become more diverse and complex.
The key themes we are pursuing are at a level that cannot be overcome by individualcompanies acting alone or competing each other. It is very important to create a“cooperative” area that transcends the boundaries of companies and industries, andto work toward solutions.
We will continue to work flexibly, honestly, and sincerely so that our member companies
will be glad that JAPIA exists or that they have joined JAPIA. I look forward to yourcontinued support.
Thank you very much for your valuable time today.