Chairman Go Goeltinger
Happy New Year.
As we begin 2026, we would like to extend our best wishes for the New Year.
First of all, I would like to congratulate you all on welcoming the new year in good health.
Last year marked the significant milestone of JAIA’s 60th anniversary, marking an important turning point for the association as it looked back on the past and looked ahead to the future. Looking back at last year’s import car market, the number of new import car registrations remained strong every month compared to the same month last year. In particular, imported BEVs have continued to perform well as they did last year, with 2025 seeing the highest number of registrations ever. We strongly hope that this trend will continue this year. We believe that we have been able to achieve these results thanks to various support measures, including continuous subsidies from the government, and the proactive efforts of JAIA member companies to expand their product lineup in order to meet customer needs. Additionally, last year’s ruling party tax reform outline included a decision to abolish the environmental performance levy on automobile tax, as requested by JAIA and the burden of purchasing a car will be reduced from April this year. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the government. JAIA will continue to pursue request activities calling for further reduction of the excessive burden of automobile-related taxes and simplification and fairness of the tax system.
Furthermore, in response to social demands for carbon neutrality and the diversification and sophistication of user needs, JAIA established supporting membership system in 2024 to address issues that are difficult for members to resolve alone. With your support, the Association now has 21 supporting member companies as of December 2025. Going forward, we will further strengthen our collaboration with these diverse stakeholders and further promote the development of a platform for realizing a sustainable mobility society.
Along with the spread of electric vehicles, steady progress is being made in creating a carbon-neutral environment, including the development of high-voltage quick chargers, thanks to the efforts of the government and related parties. In the future mobility society, DX, including autonomous driving, will become even more important in order to realize a wide range of value creation, including contributions to safe driving, beyond the GX initiatives we have implemented so far. In light of this situation, last year JAIA established a “DX Task Force” in addition to the DX team within the secretariat, with the aim of not only gathering information but also identifying and resolving issues, with the participation of members. These initiatives are positioned as business activities based on the basic policies of our activity plan.
JAIA supports the business activities of its member companies and works to contribute to the sustainable development of Japan’s mobility society by promoting its activities in accordance with six pillars: (1) market revitalization, (2) environment and energy, (3) DX activities, (4) international harmonization of safety and standards certification, (5) fair trade and after-sales for automobiles, and (6) motorcycle-related areas.
In addition to promoting safe driving, our new DX activities will also include efforts to alleviate the driver shortage in rural areas. Additionally, the widespread use of electric vehicles is expected to lead to a rapid increase in the volume of used batteries, making it increasingly important to improve recycling methods. To this end, we are focusing on promoting a circular economy to circulate valuable resources such as lithium and nickel domestically and ensure a stable supply. Furthermore, we will continue to work to resolve issues facing the entire industry, such as creating an environment that will help overcome challenges in after-sales and automotive maintenance personnel.
In the motorcycle business, in addition to measures to revitalize the market, we held exhibitions for general users and began collaborating with other organizations to secure maintenance personnel.
We will continue to make every effort to support our customers in providing a wide range of imported vehicles from around the world equipped with leading-edge safety and environmental technologies, and to serve as a compass guiding the development of a more prosperous and sustainable mobility society through innovation and diversity.
We ask for your continued understanding and cooperation in JAIA’s activities in 2026, and we sincerely hope that the new year will be a healthy and fruitful one for everyone.
