Inclusive, failing, and 'clever-small' - three takeaways from Tokyo

Japan has twice the number of 75 year olds as 5 years olds. So it perhaps makes sense that so many vehicles presented at the Japan Mobility Show were conspicuous in their inclusive design approach. Toyota presented an array of innovative new forms of robot / non-wheeled mobility aids and a van dedicate to the provision of health-care, Suzuki presented their 40 year lineage of ‘senior cars’ (mobility scooters) next to a more informal Suzu-ride 2 concept, even the radical single seat Lexus LS Micro concept had a ramp for super easy ingress-egress.

And the show was not just about the elderly and disabled in its inclusive focus. The Daihatsu Midget X is designed specifically for one parent and two young children (in the most joyous way), and the Toyota Kids Mobi concept is a toy-like super-small autonomous pod for toddlers. Toyota also took its new mantra of ‘To you’ (its name perhaps precluding the more inclusive ‘With you’ or even ‘For you’...) in another inclusive direction with the oh-such-a-breath-of-fresh-air IMV (International Multi-purpose Vehicle) concept designed for people in rural Africa — maybe the most significant car design of the show, maybe even of the year...?

Yet whilst there was that wonderfully classic Japanese breadth of innovation in function and aesthetic, there was also evidence of Japanese design failing to deliver…

The elegant Vision X–coupe was yet another Mazda concept with classic twentieth century ICE sports-GT proportions and very little to add to the story that the RX-Vision concept gorgeously told ten years ago in Tokyo. And Subaru presented its Performance STI concept that similarly looked ten years old and had nothing that spoke to the fast evolving world of today, yet alone the future. Nissan’s cartoon like stand was an exciting distraction from a lack of exciting new car designs. Suzuki and Mitsubishi also fell short of telling stores that felt relevant to a world beyond Japan too. Only Honda with its radical O series and some fun small car and bike concepts, and Toyota and Lexus with their array of new concept and production designs, presented significant step-ahead stories.

Like the UK, the same-sized island of Japan engenders a quite specific culture that satisfies its inhabitants and variably appeals to others. But as the world lives more internationally than ever it feels like some facets of design from Japan might more assertively take a bigger step forwards, and that brands are failing to use design as the powerful tool it is to reframe how they will offer something compelling for tomorrow’s world.

And yet, as well as the humanistic innovation of inclusive Japanese designs and the failure of design from several brands to move with a fast changing world, there was also the wonder of the only-from-Japan ‘clever-small’ — notably the pugnacious Honda Micro-EV concept, the afore-mentioned Daihatsu Midget X and Lexus LS Micro concepts, and the Toyota Coms-X concept. The Tokyo Motor Show was always a special show, the 2025 Japan Mobility Show is just that too.