Hamanako in Hamamatsu (©JAPAN Forward)
"Hamamatsu is exactly the right environment for us." That line from the first day of the city's media tour lingered into the second, as reporters were guided through a series of sites showing how the city continues to reinvent itself.
The tour moved from a benchmark room stacked with electric vehicle parts to Suzuki's global story and a startup promising "flying cars." It ended in a classroom where immigrant children looked ahead, tying Hamamatsu's past to its future.
Suzuki's Global Reach
Few names carry as much weight in Hamamatsu as Suzuki. The company's headquarters and Suzuki Plaza museum provided a reminder of its deep roots in the city and its global reach.
Exhibits trace the firm's transformation from a loom maker to a world leader in motorcycles and kei cars. Full-size displays of the 1952 Diamond Free bicycle engine, the 1955 Suzulight, and later models like the Alto and Wagon R illustrate milestones that shaped Japan's postwar mobility.
But Suzuki's greatest gamble was abroad. In the 1980s, then-president Osamu Suzuki steered the company toward India when competitors were focused on the United States market. That decision still defines the company today.
"India is absolutely central to Suzuki's strategy," Managing Officer Junya Kumataki explained. "We now hold more than 40 percent of the Indian market, and it was there that we recently unveiled our first EV with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance."
Exports now span more than 100 countries, with cumulative shipments exceeding three million vehicles. For Hamamatsu, Suzuki remains proof that a company born from local craft can compete on the world stage.
A Benchmark for the Next Generation
At the Hamamatsu Next-generation vehicles Center, Director Eiji Mochizuki stressed the urgency of helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stay competitive in an era of electric vehicles.
"Our role is to give SMEs the same access to knowledge and technology as the major automakers," he explained. "We want them to be able to look at real EV components, understand them, and apply their existing skills to next-generation vehicles."
The center's "Parts Benchmark Room" allows companies to handle everything from batteries to lightweight frames. By studying how automakers design for efficiency, local firms can explore new applications for their machining and electronics expertise.
For Hamamatsu's hundreds of suppliers, this kind of access can mean survival. As Mochizuki put it, "Without this kind of bridge, many SMEs would struggle to keep up. With it, they can find new opportunities."
Flying Cars Take Off
If Suzuki symbolizes tradition, SkyDrive represents bold ambition. The startup, founded in 2018, is developing electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs), often described as "flying cars."
Chief Business Officer Hiroyuki Murai told reporters that the vision is no longer science fiction. "We've already secured 438 pre-orders across eight countries," he said, listing customers in the US, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Dubai, and Indonesia.
The link with Hamamatsu runs through Suzuki. Production is set to take place at a Suzuki plant in western Shizuoka Prefecture, leveraging decades of automotive know-how.
"We are very focused on India," Murai added. "The Gujarat state government has placed orders, and India's largest private jet operator is also on board. It's a natural fit, given Suzuki's history there."
Classrooms of Coexistence
The final stop brought the focus back to people, specifically, the children of Hamamatsu's foreign residents. At the Multicultural Coexistence Center, journalists observed the "Step-Up" after-school program. Here, middle school students from Brazil, Peru, Vietnam, and the Philippines receive extra lessons in Japanese, science, and other core subjects.
One teacher explained the approach candidly: "Of course, we teach grammar and vocabulary, but first we emphasize daily habits: being on time, concentrating in class. These are just as important for their success."
For many students, the immediate goal is to pass high school entrance exams. But the challenges are steep. "Some of the classical Japanese passages are very difficult, even for native speakers," a volunteer noted. "So we go line by line, making sure they can follow."
Absenteeism is an issue, especially when parents work shifts or transport is unreliable. Yet the determination in the room was palpable. "These children are working so hard," one instructor said. "We want every one of them to move forward."
Building the Future Together
What linked the day's visits was a sense of pragmatism. At the Next-Generation Automotive Center, staff spoke of the pressure on SMEs to keep pace with electrification, but the tone was not despairing — it was methodical.
And at Suzuki, guides described how decisions made decades ago in India still shape the company's global leadership today. SkyDrive's team, for their part, spoke of orders already in hand, treating "flying cars" less as a dream than as a market to be served.
That same grounded outlook was present in the classrooms of the Multicultural Coexistence Center. Teachers there emphasized not only test preparation but habits like punctuality and concentration, the small adjustments that help students succeed in Japanese schools. One remarked that the goal was simple: to give every child the chance to move forward, regardless of where their family came from.
Taken together, these snapshots suggest that Hamamatsu's strength lies not in grand slogans but in steady, practical steps, whether on a factory floor, in a startup hangar, or in a classroom after school.
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Author: Daniel Manning
