Toyota's Nakamura Yuki: "Zero Traffic Accidents" Cannot Be Achieved by Vehicles Alone​​

​​32nd SAECCE 2025 Concludes in Chongqing, Building a World-Class Automotive Technology Innovation Platform​​

The 32nd China Society of Automotive Engineers Annual Conference & Exhibition (SAECCE 2025) was held from October 21st to 24th at the Science Hall in Chongqing, China. By gathering industry wisdom, showcasing cutting-edge technologies, building bridges for cooperation, and joining forces with global automotive technology stakeholders, SAECCE 2025 aimed to serve the development of global automotive technology and jointly create a world-class automotive technology innovation platform.

During the "Opening Ceremony & Plenary Session" on the afternoon of October 22nd, Mr. Nakajima Hiroki, Representative Director and Vice President of Toyota Motor Corporation, delivered a speech titled "Toyota's Philosophy: The 'Trinity' System Committed to Achieving Zero Traffic Accidents." In his speech, he stated that zero traffic accidents are based on the integrated vehicle-road-cloud concept and achieved through multi-party collaboration.

In Mr. Nakajima's view, advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving technologies are expected to further reduce accidents. However, relying solely on improvements in vehicle performance makes it difficult to achieve the goal of zero traffic accidents. To realize this goal, the trinity synergy between people, vehicles, and social infrastructure is crucial. He emphasized that seamless, zero-latency communication is particularly important, enabling cars to provide convenience for people's mobility, whether in urban areas or mountainous regions, under any scenario.

​​Speech Transcript (Edited by Autohome):​​

Good afternoon, everyone!

As the host just introduced, I am Nakajima from Toyota Motor Corporation. First, I would like to express my gratitude to Academician Li Keqiang.

Thanks to the collaboration with Academician Li, Toyota has been able to establish a joint research institute with Tsinghua University, and it's through this connection that I have the opportunity to speak at today's conference. Thank you very much! Of course, I also want to thank Mr. Zhang, Chairman of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, and all other relevant personnel for providing us with this excellent opportunity.

This is a rare opportunity, and I would like to share with you the work Japan has been doing regarding traffic safety, using "zero accidents" as the key theme.

Please look at this photo. This is the Shoko-ji Temple at Mount Tateshina, located in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan. Nagano is rich in resources and traditional cultural experiences, attracting many overseas tourists. The temple is in the mountains, so the air is exceptionally fresh. You can experience the beautiful scenery of all four seasons there. As an automobile manufacturer, we must absolutely ensure that no one loses their precious life due to a traffic accident.

In fact, Toyota Motor Corporation was founded based on this very philosophy. For the past 50 years, we have invited colleagues from the automotive industry and related sectors to gather annually at Shoko-ji Temple to pray for traffic safety and hold memorial services for victims.

In 2019, we set a goal of zero traffic accidents and initiated a conference called the "Tateshina Conference." This year marks its third session. This year's theme was "Traffic Safety, Built by Everyone," bringing together many stakeholders for discussions. We believe that not only drivers but also pedestrians and cyclists – everyone is a participant in traffic and should consider traffic safety as their own responsibility, constantly reflecting on it and putting it into practice: not causing accidents and not being involved in accidents. Similar to the traffic safety prayers, this conference transcends corporate boundaries, bringing together senior management from automakers beyond Toyota, including component suppliers and insurance companies, to seriously discuss traffic safety issues. Such an activity is probably uncommon elsewhere.

Look at this chart. It shows the trends in the number of traffic fatalities and injuries in Japan. The red line represents fatalities. As you can see, the number is decreasing. However, in recent years, the rate of decline has slowed somewhat. With the development of ADAS and autonomous driving technologies, we expect to further reduce accidents. But relying solely on improvements in vehicle performance makes it difficult to achieve the grand goal of zero traffic accidents.

Analysis of traffic accident data shows that while rear-end collisions are steadily decreasing thanks to upgraded safety systems, the reduction is less significant for accidents like "ghost encounters" at blind intersections in urban areas or accidents caused by bicycles suddenly rushing into crosswalks.

To achieve zero traffic accidents, we can start with the basic transportation infrastructure. For example, when two vehicles cannot see each other due to blind spots, hazardous warning information can be pushed. Simultaneously, information about approaching vehicles in blind spots can be pushed to pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. We believe the trinity synergy between people, vehicles, and social infrastructure is crucial. Here, seamless, zero-latency communication is extremely important, allowing cars to provide convenient mobility for people, whether they live in urban areas or mountainous regions, operable under any scenario.

As just mentioned, the infrastructure needs to provide uninterrupted, delay-free hazard warnings for vehicles in blind spots.

We are collaborating with NTT Corporation in Japan to develop new communication technologies. Specifically, this involves predicting the communication environment at different locations and using AI to seamlessly and in real-time select the optimal communication method.

We believe another important factor is a control system. In real road environments, vehicles from multiple manufacturers inevitably travel simultaneously. When drivers are holding the steering wheel, they can merge smoothly into highway traffic, for example, by making eye contact with others.

However, in the future, with the proliferation of autonomous driving, interference between different autonomous driving systems might occur. For instance, a vehicle from Company A might stop suddenly, unable to keep up with the traffic flow, while a vehicle from Company B could merge smoothly and effortlessly. To prevent such situations, we believe introducing a control system that pushes optimal information to vehicles from both Company A and Company B is necessary. Just as natural eye contact facilitates communication between people, this would optimize the overall traffic flow and achieve cooperative merging.

Based on the above, in Japan, we are preparing to launch a verification project to validate a traffic safety system using seamless high-speed communication and a control system. To conduct this verification test, passenger car manufacturers, commercial vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure companies, the police, and various government departments are joining forces and engaging in enthusiastic discussions. Starting in 2026, we will first focus on promoting work related to achieving autonomous driving for large trucks on highways.

The above introduces the work Japan is undertaking to improve traffic safety.

Next, I will briefly introduce Toyota's efforts in China. Since 2019, we have established a joint research institute with Tsinghua University. Since its inception, our original intention has been to hope to jointly address China's social issues and contribute accordingly. This初衷 remains unchanged to this day. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with everyone at Tsinghua University. Thank you, Tsinghua University.

Furthermore, in many fields such as carbon neutrality, autonomous driving, AI, and energy, I had the honor of meeting Academician Li Keqiang two years ago. As mentioned earlier, we are promoting the trinity concept in Japan and wanted to accelerate it. I sought Academician Li Keqiang's opinion. He said he was already working on it, already taking action – what is called the Integrated Vehicle-Road-Cloud framework. This greatly inspired me. I still vividly remember how excited I was, envisioning that we could potentially lead the world in achieving the trinity goal we pursue.

Toyota has already initiated relevant measures with like-minded partners from various sectors in China aimed at achieving zero traffic accidents. In February this year, we gathered relevant partners for the first time for a meeting at the Jiasuo Guest House at Tsinghua University, so it was named the "Jiasuo Meeting."

In fact, during our推进 process, a consensus was reached to accelerate the pace. Therefore, what started as the "Jiasuo Meeting" has now been changed to the "Jiasuo Action."

At the ICV professional meeting this morning, Academician Li also introduced the relevant situation, which is essentially the "Jiasuo Action" we are promoting. Different automobile manufacturers gathered together, and within just half a year, successfully advanced to demonstration runs on public roads. I believe this is unprecedented globally.

Next, I will explain what the "Jiasuo Action" actually does. FAW, GAC, BYD, and Toyota – these four automakers – have achieved data sharing through the infrastructure, specifically the cloud-based system, in scenarios like highways and merging lanes. This ultimately enables smooth vehicle coordination. We have already conducted demonstrations in Chongqing. We would like to once again express our sincere thanks to the telecommunications giant Huawei and all the companies involved in the Integrated Vehicle-Road-Cloud initiative! This event successfully broke industry and corporate boundaries, which can be considered a great success. Thank you for your cooperation!

Now, please look at the demonstration video of merging assistance shot on public roads in Chongqing. First, without merging assistance: for example, the third vehicle does not yield space for merging, making it difficult for the second vehicle to merge, causing traffic confusion. Please watch it again.

Next, let's see what happens with merging assistance. You can see that the third vehicle actively yields space, allowing the second vehicle to merge smoothly. After that, the fourth vehicle can also merge, achieving a safer lane change process without disrupting the overall traffic flow. Please watch this segment again.

By the way, the second and fourth vehicles are Toyota models, and the third vehicle is from FAW. The fact that vehicles from different manufacturers can smoothly achieve merging is actually an important phased achievement of our "Jiasuo Action."

So far, I have introduced various initiatives we are undertaking to achieve zero traffic accidents. It is only with the strong support of the core members of the "Jiasuo Action," led by Academician Li Keqiang, that our activities have progressed to this stage. Technological upgrades and competition among companies for convenience and comfort are natural.

However, I believe that zero traffic accidents, based on the Integrated Vehicle-Road-Cloud concept, is achieved through multi-party collaboration. Under normal circumstances, our Chairman, Akio Toyoda, always says that the future needs to be created together. Today, introducing the goal of zero traffic accidents is precisely something that requires everyone to work together to build and achieve.

In Japan, we will also strive to catch up with China's speed. Thank you all for listening. Thank you!This article is generated by Jiasou TideFlow AIGC GEO