Through the Eyes of the Consul General of Japan in Detroit

Holding an umbrella on a rainy day, wandering through an unfamiliar city. Just thinking about it fills me with excitement. Once, I wandered through the back streets of Spaccanapoli in Italy and entered a restaurant that caught my eye. I could not read the menu. I just randomly pointed and selected three dishes. The first dish was ham, the second was also ham, and the last was ham, as well. No wonder why the waitress laughed when I placed my order.
 
On another rainy day, I wandered through the Woven City with an umbrella. The Woven City was built on the former factory site of the TOYOTA Higashi-Fuji, a 40-minute bus ride from Mishima in Shizuoka Prefecture. That was about five years ago. Until I received an invitation in March from Vice President Kelly Sexton of the University of Michigan (Through the Eyes of Consul General of Japan in Detroit Vol. 12), I had never heard of the city. “It is a very interesting place. But unless you actually see it yourself, it is hard to understand even if I try to explain it,” said Vice President Dushyant Wadivkar, strongly encouraging me to visit. And just like that, on April 23, I traveled to Japan on business and had the opportunity to attend the VIP unveiling of the Woven City.
 
The first place I was taken to after arriving at the venue was a meeting with Mr. Daisuke Toyoda, President of Woven City, and Mr. Hajime Kumabe, President of Woven by Toyota. We took a photo together, both of them wearing the “I ❤️ Detroit” t-shirts I had brought them as gifts. “Woven City is an experimental city where tradition and innovation are multiplied,” Daisuke said. President Kumabe also explained to me that Detroit is an important partner (I was honestly simply happy to hear that because Detroit still has a negative image). This coming September, Mr. Akio Toyoda, Daisuke’s father and Chairman of TOYOTA, will visit Detroit to be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. I am thinking about how we might work together with the University of Michigan to share the splendor of the Woven City during that visit.
 
After the meeting, I learned about autonomous driving and two-way charging between electric vehicles and the city, interacted with an AI version of Chairman Akio Toyoda, and had a hands-on weaving experience using a loom machine from Toyota Industries. Then, with an umbrella in hand, I walked through Woven City, where people actually live. “The theme of the city is the trinity of people, technology (mobility), and infrastructure,” said Mr. Ito, the head of the president’s office, who guided us. “For example, this utility pole is smart―it can detect when someone is about to step out from a street with blind spots and alert autonomous vehicles.” I am not very familiar with AI, but if it contribute to the safety of the city, then it is a wonderful thing.
 
TOYOTA vehicles like the RAV4 and Camry are very popular in the United States. Beyond that, its suppliers are extremely popular. In the WRI (Working Relations Index), a popularity ranking of 700 car parts manufacturers published by Plante Moran, TOYOTA has held the top spot for ten consecutive years (with HONDA in the second place). TOYOTA is now building a city that looks beyond mobility. That city is Woven City. I hope to share its grandeur in Michigan someday.