In some countries, being a motorcycle technician is sometimes considered as "tough" or "dirty" occupation. However, our dealers' mechanics are important associates of Yamaha, as they are in direct contact with customers, at the frontlines of the respective markets. Sometimes they may receive complaints from customers, but I want them to have high motivation at all times and to feel happy to be working with us. With that in mind, as part of our service policies, we founded the YTA in 2000 and started the WTGP in 2002.

The YTA is an educational program that aims to improve the knowledge and skills of service technicians, and it has been introduced to Yamaha dealer all over the world. Our competitors have also introduced education/training programs of many styles for the dealer staff, but the major characteristic of the YTA is the "actual object principle," which is a style specific to Yamaha. There are other methods, including e-learning, but we are intentionally allowing each mechanic to see and disassemble the actual products, in order to help them gain skills for real-life situations, along with coming to fully understand the structure of our motorcycles and how they actually operate.

When the YTA was founded, I was in charge of the Chinese market. In a country in which the culture and way of thinking was different from that in Japan, through trial & error in studying how to improve the technicians' knowledge and skills, I eventually came to think that we should not "teach skill" them but "develop skill" them using the YTA. Now, it is the true situation that, even if we develop service technicians, some of them learned skills in yamaha and move to other companies for higher salary. I expect that our staff would learn the skills and then train new staff as instructors, and that then we would have more and more staff with abundant knowledge and skills in the future.

I also expect that all of Yamaha's technicians all over the world would of course be honored with gratitude from customers who receive the service technician supplied, feeling delighted at such feedback and refining their skills further. If we can continue to create such a positive circle, it should make customers mind "I will buy Yamaha product again!," leading to satisfaction in the technician. We, at the Secretariat, will continue our steadfast efforts and will put our energies into developing technician that can inherit Yamaha's spirit and skill sets.

Q. Message to Yamaha employees

The YTA is an educational program featuring a stepped structure, with grades of Bronze, Silver, and Gold, and with a common, global standard basic curriculum. The program is run to ensure that all Yamaha technicians can provide high-quality services with the same techniques, regardless of region: Europe, ASEAN, or North America, for example. As a result, all Yamaha dealer with YTA-qualified technician around the world can provide services of the same quality level. This leads to customer confidence and contributes to an increase in loyal customers.

It is thanks to the understanding and cooperation of the overseas distributors and sales channels around the world that we have been able to continue to operate the YTA and WTGP up until today. By working with global yamaha family, I believe that Yamaha has successfully figured out what necessary is, and consequently, needless to say, we have now boiled down the essential elements, which can help mold today's adequate YTA and WTGP. From this point of view, I think it's significant that we were able to continue the YTA and WTGP for nearly 15 years.

This year marks the holding of the 7th WTGP. Year after year, we can find out more participating countries, and the participants always bring higher levels of skill. This year, I expect that ace mechanics, representing their own countries and with high confidence in their skills, will bring a level of exciting competition that is "neck-and-neck." One of the features of WTGP2016 is a competition focusing on how to use Yamaha Diagnostic Tool for trouble shooting.

There are many cases globally where the offspring of the owner of a Yamaha dealer inherits the father's shop. I want to continue WTGP as long as I would, and I expect that, someday in the future, I will see a technician whose father had also participated in the WTGP.

Q. Message to Yamaha employees

This year, we will hold the 7th WTGP. The initial WTGP was mainly gathered from specific countries with higher levels of skill, such as European countries, the United States, and Japan. However, the event has gradually spread globally, and WTGP2016 is going to have 21 participants from 21 countries in 2016.

The increase in the number of countries participating in WTGP, which means an increase of mechanics certified by the YTA. It can be considered that our education has steadily been disseminated and established little by little, throughout the world, much like how roots branch out from a tree.

When people's living standards become higher more rich, the customers come to demand additional value in the service provided by dealer. Even when any two service staff members supply the same level of service, if one is dressed in disarray and the another is wearing their uniform properly, they leave completely different impressions on the customer. The dealer are also making efforts toward training their own service staff members in daily workshop operations to ensure education on CS and 5S, along with the cleanliness of their clothing. The YTA and WTGP are used effectively to improve the basic skills of the service technicians.

This October, many Yamaha technicians are going to gather from all over the world at Iwata-city. They speak different languages, but they have a common passion to improve their skills and a common love for Yamaha products. I want all the participants to enjoy this exchange with each other and to make life-long memories at this event.

Q. Message to Yamaha employees

On WTGP2016, We do focus on aspect of technical than ever, where participants genuinely compete using their skills, based on the simple assumption that all participants in WTGP should have sufficient knowledge and skills as technicians to win their NTGP. The competition itself will be shortened from two days to one day, with the intention to enhance the focus of the participants and to allow them to fully demonstrate their usual abilities.

Currently, motorcycle manufacturers and dealer like Yamaha cannot enhance customer satisfaction any further simply by making and selling new products. The method of service being offered is changing much faster than we had imagined. To increase royal customer to Yamaha, it is essential that we improve our knowledge and techniques involving motorcycles on the part of service technicians working at the frontlines of the respective markets, along with their capability to communicate with customers. This is a very down-to-earth method, but I believe that, by YTA and holding WTGP every two years, we can help get technicians motivation higher for improving their skills. In this way, I expect that we can increase Yamaha's brand value by working together with our service technicians.

Q. Message to Yamaha employees

"What kind of competition do you want it to be?"

I joined Yamaha in April 2015. Although I am still new to Yamaha, through my tasks at the Planning Division and MC Service Department, I have come to think that Yamaha's products have long been loved by customers worldwide because of the great deal of knowledge and skills possessed and demonstrated by each and every Yamaha service technician working at dealer in their respective markets all over the world. I also think that this level of knowledge and skill has been achieved through efforts, as founded by the YTA education program, which was continuously provided by our forerunners over the years.

Through WTGP 2016, I want as many people as possible to feel the excellence of the top-rated service technicians who won the preliminary competitions in their respective regions. I hope that contestants could come to think that their participation in WTGP was a "excellent experience" and that all Yamaha service technicians worldwide would come to put "Be a winner of next WTGP" in their sights. Although the main attendees of the WTGP are service technicians, I believe the activities of the YTA and WTGP be known by the families and colleagues that support the technicians, by the customers, and by Yamaha employees, so that Yamaha fan can be expand.

Q. Message to Yamaha employees