"I Hope You Will Work to 'Defeat Toyota'..." Outpouring of Condolences After Former Chairman's Passing [Mwonil Issyu]

Hiroshi Okuda, Former Chairman, Dies at 93
A Leader Who Reformed Conservative Toyota
Spearheaded Innovation Beyond the Company to Japan's Business Sector
Outspoken Critic of Social Trends

"I hope that each and every person will actively engage in reform with the mindset of 'defeating Toyota.' The greatest enemy is our own complacency."

Toyota Motor Corporation is the company that sells the most cars in the world. Every year, there is news reporting that it has ranked number one in global automobile sales. Although there have been many executives at Toyota, one who stands out above the rest is former chairman Hiroshi Okuda. He led Toyota's globalization and spearheaded the launch of the world's first mass-produced hybrid, the Prius. After news emerged on August 8 that Okuda had passed away at the age of 93, tributes have been pouring in from Japan's political and business circles.

Okuda was born in Mie Prefecture, Japan, in 1932. After graduating from Hitotsubashi University in 1955, he joined Toyota, where he first built his career in accounting. In 1995, he was appointed president—a position held by someone from outside the founding family for the first time in 28 years.

At a press conference held in Tokyo in 1997, Hiroshi Okuda, then President of Toyota Motor Corporation, is sitting in the driver's seat of Toyota's improved sports sedan "Aristo" with a smile. Tokyo (Japan) = AP Yonhap News.

However, when Okuda took office as president, Toyota was not in good shape. Its domestic market share had dipped below 40%, and a sense of crisis was palpable. The company was famous for its highly conservative decision-making processes. There was even a saying, "Toyota won't cross a stone bridge even after knocking on it." Upon his appointment, Okuda declared, "The worst thing is to change nothing. I will praise those who take bold challenges."

First, to increase market share in Japan, he greatly strengthened the company's planning capabilities. He prioritized the launch of the Prius, personally going to the field to push for mass production in a remarkably short time, which enabled Toyota to significantly move up the release date. That's why, when the Prius was introduced to the world in 1997, it came with the advertising slogan, "Launched for the 21st Century." From that point on, hybrid technology became a defining feature of Toyota.

He was also proactive in overseas business. Toyota had traditionally produced cars in Japan and exported them, but Okuda expanded production bases to the United States, Europe, India, China, and other countries, building a system of local production and local sales. According to Nikkei, this strategy proved so successful that sales doubled during Okuda's tenure. This is why he is credited with laying the solid foundation for Toyota's success.

He did not grow complacent just because the company was doing well. In fact, what he continually emphasized was the complacency that had crept into Toyota after reaching the top of the auto industry. When he finally became chairman in 1999, he addressed the staff in his 2001 New Year's speech, urging employees to "defeat Toyota." He argued that, rather than beating competitors, true success meant surpassing the company you work for now.

His influence extended beyond corporate management to Japan's political and economic structure. He became the founding chairman of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), and contributed his voice to regulatory reform as a private sector member of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy.

Okuda was also outspoken in his criticism of Japanese society. In a 2002 interview with the business weekly Diamond, he traced the lack of responsibility among Japan's CEOs to postwar education, saying, "At some point, Japan started to judge people as successful if they graduated from a top university and joined a leading company. So now there are too many CEOs who have never experienced failure or setbacks." This message resonates in South Korea as well.

On July 1, 1998, Hiroshi Okuda, then President of Toyota Motor Corporation, is smiling as he talks with reporters after a press conference. Tokyo, Japan – Photo by Reuters Yonhap News.

Following news of his passing, tributes continued to pour in across Japan. Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of Keidanren, credited Okuda with "leading Japan's structural reform toward a private sector-driven, autonomous economic society." Fujio Mitarai, Chairman of Canon and Okuda's successor at Keidanren, called Okuda his "mentor in management" and said, "He taught me the attitude a manager should have, always from a broad perspective."

Tributes were also heard at the local level, especially from municipalities home to Toyota factories. Hideaki Omura, governor of Aichi Prefecture—where Toyota City is located—praised Okuda for his "major contributions to raising Toyota to a global automobile company." The same sentiments were echoed by many others, including leaders in his home prefecture of Mie.

What is most remarkable is that Okuda remained concerned about Toyota even until the very end. According to Nikkei, just a few weeks before his death, he called a former Toyota executive and asked, "Why doesn't Toyota do more to promote its latest technologies?" Even in his nineties, he was still worried that Toyota might be resting on its laurels.

It is natural for successful companies to want to maintain their current ways of doing things. Okuda, however, insisted, "The worst thing is to never change," and consistently called for transformation. In Japan, his message from 30 years ago is once again drawing renewed attention in light of his passing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.