CHINO, Nagano -- Toyota Motor Corp. President Kenta Kon said the company will strengthen profitability by sending more employees from its headquarters to factories and other worksites to drive "kaizen," referring to the Japanese business concept of continuous improvement, across its operations.

The 57-year-old president outlined the plans to the Mainichi Shimbun and other media outlets during his first media interview since taking over the position in April. "The place where Toyota makes money is on the front lines. I want employees from our headquarters, including those in accounting, to spend time at our worksites so we can pursue even stronger energy for kaizen," he stated.

Kon spent much of his career in accounting and previously served as the company's chief financial officer. During the roughly one-hour interview, he repeatedly stressed the importance of the front lines. Since becoming president, he has visited factories, suppliers and dealerships. He explained, "Every worksite is full of challenges. In our domestic market, some customers are still waiting because we can't supply enough of our most popular models. We're working to resolve bottlenecks in the distribution process."

He added that Toyota plans to encourage employees based at the automaker's headquarters and other offices to visit the front lines more actively to help generate new ideas for kaizen.

Toyota's consolidated revenue for the fiscal year ended March 2026 exceeded 50 trillion yen (roughly $305 billion), setting a new record. However, for the fiscal year ending March 2027, tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the worsening situation in the Middle East are expected to weigh heavily on earnings, putting the company's ability to strengthen its earning power to the test.

At its factories, Toyota is promoting a production efficiency initiative known as "AREA 35." The aim is to optimize inventory by reducing the number of different parts used and to expand the amount of space available for vehicle production.

The company continues to pursue its "multi-pathway strategy," developing gasoline-powered vehicles, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and other powertrain options, rather than focusing on a single technology.

Kon commented, "As a full-line automaker, our mission is to provide the vehicles that a wide range of customers want. But if left unchecked, the number of vehicle types tends to keep increasing. The foundation of the Toyota Production System is avoiding excess inventory, and we will continue our efforts to build on that principle."

(Japanese original by Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Nagoya News Department)