The project was inspired by my experience in the Philippines, where I visited for work around 2013.
In the early 2000s, the Philippines was one of the regions where I went to dive in various places to become a scuba diving instructor. I was impressed by the blue of the soda-colored sea, but at that time, urban areas were still in ruins and there were many beggarly people. However, when I visited the Philippines for the first time in a long time, I found that the country had greatly developed. The area around the airport had been cleaned up, and at first glance, the Manila metropolitan area, including Makati, did not look much different from Tokyo, and I was amazed at its development and vitality.
While the Philippine economy is growing at an annual rate of 6-7%, the old-fashioned jeepneys and tricycles are still the main means of transportation for the common people, and there is practically nothing that can be called public transportation with a timed system like in Japan. The “public transportation system” is practically nonexistent in the country.This is because these drivers rent vehicles from owners and operate them as they please, so during rush hours, these vehicles rush into traffic, creating congestion, and during off-peak hours, drivers are taking naps. Because situations happen.
We believe that we can help improve the lives of local people by building and providing convenient and disciplined public transportation services that are commonplace in Japan, where buses and trains arrive after a short wait and are scheduled on a regular schedule, in a way that is suited to the local environment. Our services will also lead to the diffusion and deployment of Japanese technology, which will also benefit Japan.
Despite the current chaotic situation, the significance and feasibility of deploying a disciplined transportation system became more concrete through the local trend to bring discipline to transportation, the trend toward IOT and digitalization, and the demonstration project completed with support from SoftBank and NEDO, where I was working at the time. The significance and feasibility of deploying a disciplined transportation system became even more tangible.
ASEAN, a market with a population of just under 700 million, faces similar transportation challenges, albeit to different degrees, and we can be of service to a wide range of people in this region. We hope to be of service to many people through our activities linking Japan and ASEAN. We are convinced that we can also be of help in the smart city transportation that has been spreading recently, and we would like to work on bringing the results we have achieved in various regions to Japan.
We would also be happy to play a role as a place for motivated Japanese businessmen and engineers to challenge themselves and gain new experiences through Zenmov's business. You may feel a different kind of vitality that you cannot feel in Japan, and a chemical reaction may occur.
There is one thing I would like to add regarding this one. I often go in and out of areas where people are called BOP, which stands for Bottom of the Economic Phyramid, people who make less than $3,000 in a year. One would expect them to have a terrible life, but when one catches a glimpse of the people living there, eating grilled chicken-like food on the side of the road with a delicious smell wafting in the air, playing volleyball with their friends, and laughing and enjoying life with others around them, one is struck by the diversity of their values toward happiness. I realized that there is diversity in the sense of values toward happiness.
Although this is slightly off the topic of business,Zenmov would like to be a place where we can provide awareness of new perspectives that you may not feel when you are in Japan.
Representative Director Sumio Tanaka
