Toyoda to Become Automobile Business Association of Japan Chairman; to Help Guide U.S. Tariff-Affected Industriessns

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, May 21, 2025

Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor Corp., is set to become the chairman of the Automobile Business Association of Japan, a broad-based organization encompassing the automotive, petroleum and non-life insurance industries, in June, it has been learned.

The ruling parties are expected to begin discussions on a fundamental review of taxes related to automobile purchase and ownership in earnest from this autumn. Toyoda, in his capacity as chairman of the leading automaker, will be tasked with guiding the industries affected by the U.S. additional tariff measures.

Takeshi Uchiyamada, former chairman of Toyota, currently holds the association’s chairmanship. Toyoda is expected to succeed him after the association’s general meeting in June.

The association was established in 1946 with the aim of dynamically promoting collaboration across the automotive-related industries for the mutual growth of the sector and the Japanese economy.

The association includes not only the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Inc. and industry groups of parts manufacturers and importers, but also the Petroleum Association of Japan and the General Insurance Association of Japan. The association’s main task is consolidating tax reform requests from the different backgrounds of these members.

Toyoda is also expected to address challenges facing the automotive industry, such as U.S. tariffs on automobiles and the global slowdown in the growth of electric vehicles.

The association’s chairmanship was previously held by Toyoda’s father, Shoichiro Toyoda, former president of Toyota Motor, for about 20 years until 2012. Kiichiro Toyoda, his grandfather and Toyota’s founder, served as the first chairman of the association’s predecessor organization.