In 1981, Honda launched a car and a minibike at the same time, the City and the Motocompo. The two were developed together. With its handlebar folded, the Motocompo could be loaded into the trunk of the new City.
manufacturing
Super Cub
Honda launched the first Super Cub, the C100, in 1958. In October 2017, Honda announced that worldwide production of the Super Cub series had reached 100 million.
A Honda fact book for a later model speaks of owning the timeless Sūpā Kabu dezain, Super Cub design, and equates it with fuhensei, universality.
Corolla
Toyota launched the first Corolla, a two-door sedan, in November 1966. In May 2012, Toyota announced the eleventh generation. By the end of July 2013, cumulative global sales of the Corolla had passed 40 million. In August 2021, Toyota marked 50 million.
Grand Seiko Style
Grand Seiko says that the 44GS, born in 1967, was the first model to establish the Grand Seiko Style. The style is defined by nine design elements. They rest mainly on flat surfaces and on a smooth mirror finish without distortion.
Kuru Toga
In 2008, Mitsubishi Pencil released the Kuru Toga, a mechanical pencil whose lead always stays sharp. The pressure of writing moves a gear connected to the lead. With each stroke, the lead turns a little.
The Sharp Pencil
In 1915, Hayakawa Tokuji created the Hayakawa-style propelling pencil. The propelling pencils of the time were made of celluloid and broke easily. Hayakawa rebuilt the inner metal parts, which had combined many pieces, from a single sheet of brass and made them strong.
He was advised to call it the Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil. It became a hit for its function and its beauty, and it later gave the company Sharp its name.
Washlet
TOTO released the Washlet, its washing toilet seat, in June 1980. Its television commercial of 1982 carried the line: Oshiri datte, aratte hoshii. “The bottom, too, wants to be washed.”
Sound Princess
Many women in Japan used to flush a public toilet twice, the first time only to cover the sounds of using it. In 1988, TOTO put its first Otohime, Sound Princess, on sale. The device plays the sound of flowing water.
The Japan Times wrote that it was made “to cater to the delicate sensibilities of women and save water at the same time.”
Pokayoke
A pokayoke is a device or method on the factory floor that prevents mistakes. The word is said to come from poka, a careless error, and yokeru, to avoid. It is used abroad as well.
A factory management magazine credits these methods to Shingo Shigeo, a consultant who improved many factories after the war and who is said to have shaped the origins of the Toyota Production System. It notes that a pokayoke is built cheaply, with ingenuity instead of money.
Magic Cut
Majikku katto, Magic Cut, is a patented packaging technology whose trademark is registered by Asahi Kasei Pax. A bag with Magic Cut can be torn open from any point along its edge. The edge carries countless tiny holes, about 0.2 to 0.3 millimeters each.