Toyota, Aichi

Toyota
豊田市
Core city

Toyota Stadium

Flag
Seal

Location of Toyota in Aichi Prefecture
Toyota

 

Coordinates: 35°4′56.8″N 137°9′22.8″E / 35.082444°N 137.156333°E / 35.082444; 137.156333Coordinates: 35°4′56.8″N 137°9′22.8″E / 35.082444°N 137.156333°E / 35.082444; 137.156333
Country Japan
Region Chūbu (Tōkai)
Prefecture Aichi Prefecture
Government
 • -Mayor Toshihiko Ota
Area
 • Total 918.32 km2 (354.57 sq mi)
Population (May 2015)
 • Total 420,076
 • Density 457/km2 (1,180/sq mi)
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
– Tree Zelkova serrata
– Flower Sunflower
Phone number 0565-31-1212
Address 3–60 Nishimachi, Toyota-shi, Aichi-ken 471-8501
Website Official website
Toyota City Hall
Toyota city skyline

Toyota (豊田市 Toyota-shi) is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of May 2015, the city had an estimated population of 420,076 and a population density of 457 persons per km². The total area was 918.32 square kilometres (354.57 sq mi). It is located about 35 minutes from Nagoya by way of the Meitetsu Toyota Line.

Several of Toyota Motor Corporation's manufacturing plants, including the Tsutsumi plant, are located here. The longstanding ties between the Toyota Motor Corporation and the town of Toyota-shi, formerly known as Koromo (挙母市 Koromo-shi), gave the town its current name.

Geography

Toyota is located in north-central Aichi Prefecture, and is the largest city in the prefecture in terms of area. The city area is mountainous to the north, with peaks averaging around 1000 meters in height along its northern border with Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. Much of the mountainous northern portion of the city is within the Aichi Kōgen Quasi-National Park. The central and southern portions of the city have rolling hills and agricultural flatlands.

Toyota is within a one-hour drive of Nagoya.[1]

Surrounding municipalities

History

The area of present-day Toyota City has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and archaeologists have found a continuous record of artifacts from the Japanese paleolithic period onwards. In early proto-historic times, the area was under the control of the Mononobe clan, who built numerous kofun burial mounds. The local place name “Koromo” is mentioned in the Kojiki and other early Japanese documents.

During the Edo period, parts of the area of the current city were under the control of Koromo Domain, a feudal han under the Tokugawa shogunate; however, most of the area of the current city was tenryō territory controlled directly by the government in Edo and administered through hatamoto class appointed administrators. The village of “Tokugawa”, from which Tokugawa Ieyasu took his clan name, was located within what is now the city of Toyota.

After the Meiji restoration, the area was organized into the towns of Asuke and Koromo and numerous villages under Higashikamo District and Nishikamo District.

The area was a major producer of silk and prospered from the Meiji period through the Taishō periods. As the demand for raw silk declined in Japan and abroad, Koromo entered a period of gradual decline after 1930.[2] The decline encouraged Kiichiro Toyoda, cousin of Eiji Toyoda, to look for alternatives to the family's automatic loom manufacturing business. The search led to the founding of what became the Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota built the first manufacturing facility, known as Toyota Honsha plant in November 1938, breaking ground in December 1935.[3]

On March 1, 1951, Koromo gained city status, and absorbed the village of Takahashi from Nishikamo District on September 30, 1956. Due to the fame and economic importance of its major employer, the city of Koromo (挙母市) changed its name to Toyota on January 1, 1959.

Toyota became a sister city with Detroit, Michigan, United States in 1960. It continued to expand by annexing the towns of Kamigo (Hekikai District) on March 1, 1964, and Takaoka (Hekikai District) on September 1, 1965, and Sanage (Nishikamo District) on April 1, 1967, as well as the village of Matsudaira (Higashikamo District) on April 1, 1970.

In 1979 the Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu) opened the Toyota New Line (now Toyota Line), and in 1988: The Aichi Loop Line was opened, thus considerably improving access to the city via rail transport.

Toyota became a Core City in 1998, with increased local autonomy.

On March 25, 2005, Expo 2005 opened with its main site in Nagakute and additional activity in Seto and Toyota. The Expo continued until September 25, 2005.

On April 1, 2005, Toyota absorbed the town of Fujioka, the village of Obara (both from Nishikamo District), the towns of Asuke, Asahi and Inabu, and the village of Shimoyama (all from Higashikamo District) to create the new and expanded city of Toyota.

Mitsuru Obe and Eric Pfanner of The Wall Street Journal stated that by 2015 Toyota was recovering from an economic depression "so deep that some were comparing it to Detroit."[4]

Transportation

Toyota, as the home city of Toyota Motors is well-served by expressways and national highways. However, it is the largest city in Japan which was not served by the Japanese National Railways (JNR), or its successor, JR Central. The closest Shinkansen station is Mikawa-Anjō Station in the city of Anjō, although the limited-stop Nozomi and Hikari services do not stop there.

Railway

Highways

Economy

Principal headquarters building of Toyota Motor Corporation

The main headquarters of Toyota is located in a three story building in Toyota. As of 2006 the head office has the "Toyopet" Toyota logo and the words "Toyota Motor". The Toyota Technical Center, a 14-story building, and the original Honsha plant, Toyota's first plant engaging in mass production and formerly named the Koromo plant, are adjacent to one another in a location near the headquarters. Vinod Jacob from The Hindu described the main headquarters building as "modest".[1] In 2013 company head Akio Toyoda reported that it had difficulties retaining foreign employees at the headquarters due to the lack of amenities in Toyota.[5]

Education

Colleges and universities

Primary and secondary education

Toyota has 12 public and eight private high schools, 27 public middle schools and 78 public elementary schools. The city also has two private middle schools and two special education schools.

International schools

Sister city relations

Local attractions

Sports facilities

Notable people from Toyota

References

  1. 1 2 Jacob, Vinod. "In Toyota land." The Hindu Business Line. August 18, 2006. Retrieved on May 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Municipalities of Aichi (Japan)". Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  3. ↑ Toyota Honsha Plant history
  4. ↑ Obe, Mitsuru and Eric Pfanner. "Abe’s Backing Is Lukewarm, Even in Toyota’s Town" (Archive). The Wall Street Journal. December 11, 2014. Retrieved on August 12, 2015.
  5. ↑ Greimel, Hans. "Dreary HQ city is a handicap in global glitz plan." (Archive) Automotive News. May 6, 2013. Retrieved on May 9, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "Escolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão" (Archive). Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.
  7. ↑ "US-Japan Sister Cities by State". Asia Matters for America. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Retrieved 21 November 2015.
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