TOKYO MOTOR SHOW 2019  OPEN FUTURE

The 46th Tokyo Motor Show 2019 Closes After Excellent Turnout
- Revamped show drew a total of 1.3 million visitors -

  • JNR-2019-20
  • November 5, 2019

The 46th Tokyo Motor Show 2019 was held by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) at the Tokyo Big Sight (including the Aomi, West and South Exhibition Halls), Mega Web, Symbol Promenade Park and Drive Park venues in Tokyo’s waterfront Odaiba district for 12 days, starting from October 24 and ending at 18:00 on November 4.

“Open Future” was the theme of this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, in which 192 globally active corporations and organizations representing a range of industries participated.  The show’s expanded scope focused not only on the excitement of cars and motorcycles but on new themes such as “Homes of the future” and “Cities of the future,” enabling a total of 1,300,900 visitors to experience the future of mobility and get a glimpse of a future “mobility society.”

As the show’s organizer and host, JAMA would like to express its deepest gratitude to everyone, beginning with the show’s visitors and exhibitors, who helped make Tokyo Motor Show 2019 a resounding success.  We are also pleased to convey to our readers the following message from our chairman.

A message from JAMA Chairman Akio Toyoda:

The 46th Tokyo Motor Show 2019 has concluded successfully. I would like to thank everyone who visited it. I trust you were able to enjoy yourselves.

I have no doubt that some of you have previously attended the Tokyo Motor Show a number of times. We appreciate your continuing enjoyment of cars and motorcycles. Perhaps you felt that this year’s show was a bit different from past editions. In the years ahead, cars and motorcycles will change significantly in various aspects. It will make me very happy to know that those evolving aspects will continue to excite you and attract your interest.

No doubt as well that some of you attended the Tokyo Motor Show for the first time ever this year. First of all, let me thank you for your decision to come and visit the show. I hope you enjoyed it. I would be delighted if, after your visit, your reaction was “I’m glad I came!” and “That was fun!” And I would be even more delighted if you thought “I want to come again!”

In 2020, the area in which Tokyo Motor Show 2019 was held will become a venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Future mobility vehicles and devices that you saw at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show will be in actual use there. The next edition of the Tokyo Motor Show is scheduled to be held one year later, in 2021. In two years’ time, how far will the products that you saw at this year’s show have evolved? Please take a moment to imagine the possibilities.

At the 47th Tokyo Motor Show in 2021, we intend to put forward concepts that will far exceed what you can imagine. We want to see looks of surprise and astonishment on the faces of visitors to the show, and so we will work even harder to push the boundaries of monozukuri (manufacturing as practiced in Japan).

If this year’s motor show made you think “That was fun” and “I’m glad I came,” then you can expect great things from Tokyo Motor Show 2021 as well. We look forward to seeing you again in two years.

A total of 1,300,900 visitors wowed by this year’s Tokyo Motor Show

The 46th Tokyo Motor Show 2019 was held at Tokyo Big Sight (in the Aomi, West and South Exhibition Halls) and at nearby venues including MEGA WEB and the outdoors DRIVE PARK.  A total of 1,300,900 people attended the show, including large numbers of visitors from overseas as well as from Japan.  Visitors also included many adolescents and children—in fact, preliminary figures indicate that the number of visitors aged 14 and younger was 70 percent higher than at the last show.

Although the first half of the show period was impacted by rain, the second half took place in fine weather.  Many people took advantage of the favorable conditions to visit the show’s Open Road, held mainly outdoors, where they were able to enjoy examining and test-driving/riding various forms of mobility.

The fact that the show was held in two separate locales caused considerable inconvenience for visitors travelling between them.  As the organizer of the Tokyo Motor Show, JAMA wants visitors to enjoy this biennial exhibition without such inconvenience.  We therefore intend to resolve issues encountered at this year’s show and make improvements in preparation for the 47th Tokyo Motor Show in 2021.

Experiencing the near future through “Future Expo” and its cross-industry collaboration

FUTURE EXPO was a lively attraction at the 46th Tokyo Motor Show 2019.  Taking place at the Mega Web venue and drawing approximately 500,000 visitors, it was held in collaboration with 62 corporations and organizations including the All Japan Business Committee and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).  

In addition to cars and motorcycles, the latest technologies from various industries were gathered under a single roof.  Visitors were able to experience the near future at more than 100 exhibit stations, which inspired great expectations for Japanese technological prowess and the future of Japan.

“Out of KidZania in TMS2019,” where children roleplayed working at various occupations, attracted approximately 10,000 participants.
Test-drive/ride programs drew a record high of roughly 29,000 participants.

One of the keywords at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show was “experience.”  The show collaborated with KidZania (a family-oriented amusement park enterprise) for the first time, enabling about 10,000 children to participate in a total of 11 hands-on on-the-job experiences.  The “Out of KidZania” program was widely covered by the media and generated great excitement.

The test-drive/ride program enabled participants to test the latest passenger cars and motorcycles, but micromobility and personal mobility vehicles and devices, electric scooters, vehicles equipped with advanced safety technologies, next-generation cars and automated driving experiences were also on offer in what was the Tokyo Motor Show’s most diverse test-drive/ride lineup ever.  A total of approximately 29,000 people—an event record—took part in the program.

A variety of entertainments at the show, including e-Motorsports and drones

Multiple competitions in e-Motorsports, now hugely popular among younger generations, were hosted by the Tokyo Motor Show using PlayStation®4’s “Gran Turismo Sport” software.1  In the FIA Gran Turismo Championship World Tour, which sets out to discover the world’s fastest player, top drivers from around the globe competed in races of the highest quality; the Under-18 Inter-Prefecture Japan Championship was a battle among under-18-year-olds from each of Japan’s 47 prefectures who had qualified for the tournament through a series of preliminary rounds; an additional competition, the Car Manufacturer Championship, was also held.  These events all took place at MEGA WEB and provided entertainment that was wildly applauded.

In the Future Drone Entertainment “Contact” program,2 the Tokyo Motor Show’s pioneering nighttime spectacle, a total of 500 drones danced above the Yume no Ohashi bridge in a fantastical event unfolding against a night sky and watched by approximately 15,000 people over the course of three days; Japan’s first-ever FAI-certified drone race took place during the second half of the show period, an impressive event that was observed by roughly 3,000 people over two days; also held were various contests featuring mobility platforms equipped with the latest technologies.


Left photo © 2019 Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Developed by Polyphony Digital Inc.
1 “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
2 The program was implemented with the permission of the East Japan Civil Aviation Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; the Japan Coast Guard’s 3rd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters; and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Port and Harbor.

Onward to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, then to Tokyo Motor Show 2021

As the organizer of the Tokyo Motor Show, JAMA intends to put into practical application, on the occasion of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020 and at the 47th Tokyo Motor Show to be held the following year, the knowledge it has gained in holding this year’s show.

The Tokyo Motor Show will continue to play a familiar role in the future lives and lifestyles of its visitors and will remain an event that focuses on being “open.”  We very much hope you will look forward to our future initiatives.

Note to members of the media:

The photographs appearing in this news release are available for use on the 46th Tokyo Motor Show 2019 press website @ https://www.tokyo-motorshow.com/en/press/

TOP