Honorary Chairman Eiji Toyoda Awarded
James Watt International Gold Medal

Tokyo―TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today that TMC Honorary Chairman Eiji Toyoda was awarded the James Watt International Gold Medal and an Honorary Fellowship of the Institution by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at its award ceremony held on December 13 (local time) in London.

The James Watt International Gold Medal was initiated by the Institution in 1936 to confer recognition on individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development of mechanical engineering and industry. Awarded every two years, it is one of the world's most prestigious honours for mechanical engineering.

Up to 1995, 29 persons, including Henry Ford and Theodore von Kármán, have been so honoured. Mr. Toyoda is the third Japanese recipient, following Mr. Hideo Shima in 1969 and the late Mr. Soichiro Honda in 1991.

In his acceptance speech at the award ceremony, Mr. Toyoda said that, as a person who works in the field of mechanical engineering, he deeply appreciated receiving a prestigious honour that bears the name of James Watt, whom he so respects and admires. He went on to say that the 60 years he has devoted to automaking has been done with the resolve of contributing to the enrichment of society. He also commented that his years as an engineer in this exciting industry have been continually challenging, exciting and joyful.

He said that he hoped to continue making the utmost effort towards contributing to socioeconomic growth through greater development of the automobile industry, and to be worthy of the award. He added that he believed his acceptance of the award had been made possible only with the support and cooperation of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers and many others in a wide range of fields, and wanted to take this opportunity to express his deepest gratitude to them.