2. Challenge of Emission Regulations

In the late 1960s, the automotive industry faced a series of technical challenges that threatened its very survival. Issues related to safety, fuel efficiency, and noise were piling up, but the most pressing concern was addressing emission regulations. Starting in 1967, Japan announced increasingly stringent emission standards almost every year. The automotive industry was subjected to harsh demands to solve the inherently conflicting issues of emission purification and fuel efficiency.

Until then, automotive parts manufacturers had been able to conduct independent research and development in their specialized fields. However, the continuous tightening of emission regulations made this approach untenable. The application of electronics technology to this field, although still in its developmental stages, was also deemed essential. To tackle this challenge, it was urgent to significantly strengthen collaborative research and development and establish a concrete organizational structure to support this effort.

Amidst these circumstances, in 1970, 11 parts manufacturers from the Toyota Group, centered around our company, came together to establish “SOKEN.”

Reference：Overview of SOKEN (at the time of establishment)

The institute introduced advanced and large-scale research facilities and brought together research engineers from the participating companies. The research themes were narrowed down to “emission purification” and “safety.”

We actively promoted systematic research and development in close collaboration with the research and development departments of Toyota Motor Corporation. Later, in 1975, Toyota Motor Corporation also participated in the institute's capital.