Long-Term Vision: ART for Human Possibilities
Long-term Vision can be viewed from here
Based on the two key themes of enjoying daily life and Kando, which have been unchanging values at Yamaha Motor since our founding, we delve into what led to the creation of our Long-Term Vision for 2030 of ART for Human Possibilities.
*Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feelings of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of exceptional value.
From the Founder: “I want to make enjoying daily life commonplace.”
Genichi Kawakami spearheaded Nippon Gakki’s entry into the motorcycle industry in 1954 as one of the latest players in Japan to join the space, and the company’s first model—the YA-1—was developed in just 10 months. At the time, motorcycles were merely tools for work or getting around, and imposing all-black styling was the norm. However, we went against this norm with the YA-1, which featured a modern two-tone paint scheme of chestnut red and ivory white. This marked the beginning of what would later constitute Yamaha Motor Design. The following year, Kawakami officially founded Yamaha Motor as an independent enterprise, and the company later entered the marine recreation industry and many other fields, diversifying its business portfolio and entering markets overseas. This is what created the foundations for what Yamaha Motor is today.
Kawakami himself always wanted to make the idea of enjoying daily life commonplace in Japan. During a fact-finding tour of markets overseas, Kawakami often saw people enjoying themselves in their free time with all kinds of leisure activities. At the time, however, Japan was only just about to enter its post-war period of rapid economic growth, but Kawakami was convinced that he had to help spread the idea of enjoying daily life if such scenes were to come to Japan someday. Moreover, he firmly believed that to communicate that appeal to others, he had to fully experience those leisure activities himself and truly know what made them fun.
Our Corporate Mission: To Be a Kando Creating Company
In 1990, Yamaha Motor made being a Kando Creating Company our corporate mission. This was done based on the belief that what customers and society at large expect and desire from the Yamaha brand is to be moved, to be thrilled, and to experience the unique joy of Kando, thus we made this our corporate mission—to be a Kando Creating Company offering new excitement and a more fulfilling life for people all over the world.
ART for Human Possibilities – Offering People New Possibilities
In 2018, we revealed our Long-Term Vision of ART for Human Possibilities and laid out our growth strategy targeting 2030. ART is an activity humans have been exploring uninterrupted since ancient times and is a method for offering people new possibilities. People who really try to enjoy life end up delving deeper to explore their humanity, asking themselves questions like, “When is it that I’m having fun?” “What’s something I can do that I won’t get bored of?” or “What sort of person am I?” During that process, the unique joy and emotion felt when you finally uncover your own humanity is what we have defined Kando to be. People who have experienced this acquire a mysterious motivation that spurs them to take on the next challenge, leading them to discover new possibilities they were not even aware of. Repetitions of this “ART for Human Possibilities Cycle” in one’s day-to-day life is how that life steadily becomes more enjoyable and fulfilling. Furthermore, the underlying belief of our Long-Term Vision is that if there are more such people around the world, there will be more customers that enjoy their connection with Yamaha Motor. For that to happen, we believe that a pairing of technology and values both rooted in our humanity will be needed. With ART for Human Possibilities as an integral concept of our vision, Yamaha Motor will continue to strive toward the timeless values of enjoying daily life and Kando that we have cherished since our founding.
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