Hi everyone. SAMURAI WHEELS is back with our yearly special edition.

Today, we've come to the big site complex on Tokyo Bay to cover the Japan Mobility Show,

which is the new revised name for the outgoing Tokyo Motor Show.

So much is going to change and the organizers say that they want to turn it into something like a national festival.

That's so amazing. Wow.

Did you know that over 1,000 foreign media have been invited to see the latest cars

with basically every Japanese manufacturer offering a new sports car concept?

Really? I'll believe it when I see it, so let's get going!

I'll lead the way.

The Tokyo Motor Show has featured and celebrated the newest creations from Japan's auto manufacturers

for well over half a century, but now the event is being reborn...

As the Japan Mobility Show!

This year, the event featured 475 participating companies, nearly 3 times more than the previous event.

On a scale like never before, we'll show you what the future holds...

Not just from Japan's auto industry...

but from aerospace engineering companies...

to experts in robotics.

Strap on your seatbelts.

It's time for a special edition of SAMURAI WHEELS!

Okay, Ukyo, so the first stand we are going to is Toyota's stand.

Ohh, this is what we have been waiting for.

This is what the new Japan mobility show is all about.

It's all about the SUVs, and the commercial cars, and the minivans, also focusing on sports cars.

The performance EV Peter's referencing is Toyota's FT-Se.

The company has packed it full of its next generation technology.

So what sort of a car is this? What sort of platform, what sort of drivetrain, what sort of performance can we expect?

Right. Well, by using an extremely small battery, we were able to achieve a very low profile.

We're developing these new types of batteries for vehicles like the FT-Se and FT-3e.

Toyota is putting a lot on the line by developing a new type of battery completely in-house.

With groundbreaking performance upgrades, it's leading the way into a new generation of Battery Electric Vehicles.

What stands out about this vehicle is its low profile and low center of gravity.

That translates to good aerodynamic performance and increased range as well as improved drivability.

In terms of Toyota, you really want to put this on the market?

We certainly do!

It's a bit hard to get into.

Oh. Yes, yes

It's difficult, right?

Just like other aspects of Toyota's Global architecture, the battery actually contributes to the design of the vehicle.

That's so... so cutting edge!

By making it smaller and lighter, we can not only increase performance,

but it can also be used in vehicles like SUVs where space is at a premium.

Especially with sports cars, if the battery is too thick or raises its center of gravity, you won't be able to improve performance.

That's exactly right.

The development of these new batteries is the key to Toyota's plunge into the Battery Electric vehicle, or B-E-V market.

Thin, compact, and long-lasting it's excited about its next-gen batteries.

The automaker feels they will help them to achieve higher performance and increased responsiveness.

This technology is a warning shot to let other EV makers around the world

know that Toyota is not only back in the game, but that it's playing for keeps!

The first production models to be equipped with Toyota's new batteries will be Lexus sports cars,

featuring a charging time of just 20 minutes, and a range of 1,000km!

And I have a feeling that Lexus is going to try and bring this to market within the next 4 to 5 years.

They kind of went a different direction with it!

Yeah it's different than what I expected. I was expecting maybe a 2-door sports car.

This is a 4-door sporty sedan, isn't it?

The company is planning to make its cars highly interactive.

Onboard sensors will work in conjunction with digital data and connect occupants to a variety of services and infrastructure.

When charging, the vehicle will seamlessly connect to a proprietary network

and become an integral part of Lexus' infrastructure by providing access to valuable big data.

So, just wanted to ask you, what do you think of this show? And has anything stood out to you?

Well I think the entire show as a whole has been inspirational.

It actually charges up the entire industry - seeing a lot of new cars and a lot of really interesting mobility solutions.

From Lexus, from Honda, from Nissan, there are a lot of launches,

so I really appreciate the tremendous energy and the effort from the entire Japanese industry.

In 2022, Sony and Honda teamed up to form a joint venture for developing a new electric vehicle.

Naturally, this created quite the buzz!

This year the powerful partnership has finally released its first prototype, the Afeela.

Honda was responsible for designing and producing the vehicle,

while Sony handled the software and entertainment system.

This is called a media bar.

What does this media bar show?

Can you tell us what this media bar is all about?

We wanted to show how cars can actually be information and data centers of sorts...

Vehicles can really affect the way a person feels.

So, we want people to consider that their vehicles can and should be another means of self-expression.

You'll put it on the market and sell it as a production car?

- Yes.
- Okay.

This sort of steering wheel is becoming very popular now, aren't they?

We did that so the displays can spread out across the dash.

Honda did the same thing with the Honda E.

The full style screen, yeah.

There's a play station game controller right there.

Oh, good heavens! The kids will love this!

The kids got a game controller! Remote control.

Good heavens! Wow.

And will it have Level 3 autonomous... Level 2 + Level 3 autonomous driving, okay.

The definition of what a car is, is completely changing!

We want to come up with new ways to enjoy and experience cars.

The concept of the Afeela is centered around creating something that feels like an intelligent entity.

This will allow for a redefining the relationship between people and their vehicles.

First deliveries are expected to arrive in the US in 2026.

Now, let's see what Honda has brought for their own booth!

Honda has a couple of very interesting cars on display.

We've got this huge bus that has the cameras all around it.

And that will have Level 3 autonomous driving.

But up here is one of the highlights of the stand.

When it comes to the future of mobility, Honda has set its sights on sustainability.

This concept vehicle is made from a recycled acrylic resin

and was developed with the aim protecting the environment while enjoying freedom of mobility far into the future.

The body is a physical representation of its commitment to sustainability and innovation.

And it's not even painted.

Oh, really.

- Absolutely zero paint.
- Is that so?

Yes, so this body can be reborn and re-used many times over!

This will allow us to drastically cut CO2 emissions.

Putting all of these things together makes for a car that is environmentally sustainable.

And our "Pocket" electric bike is also made with the same materials.

So here we have a... this is based on the City from 40 years ago.

And it's based on the City, on the back you have the little 2-wheel motorcycle on the back?

Well, we don't directly say that these are based directly off of the City or the Motocompo,

but they certainly were designed to reflect the DNA of our past.

We chose them because we wanted to propose using a combination of 2-wheeled and 4-wheeled mobility in the EV market.

The last one-mile...

That's exactly right.

It's for that last mile, so you load it into your trunk, and when you get to your destination, you can reassemble it, and away you go.

- Can he sit down, this one?
- Sure.

So, why don't you call the car the City?

Uh, well, we want people to be able to use their imaginations a little more!

You could call it the SustainaCity!

Everyone here is probably expecting one more reveal from Honda.

And yes, we do in fact have a sports model here.

What sports model will Honda be releasing next?

Many thought it would be the next generation NSX or maybe the return of the S2000.

But the big announcement brought back another famous model - The Prelude.

First debuting in 1978, the Prelude was in production until 2001.

During its 23-year run, Honda produced 5 generations of the sports coupe.

After a 20-year absence, Honda announced that the concept car is in fact a "prelude" to a future production model.

Like its predecessors, it will be an elegantly proportioned coupe, with the maker announcing it will be fitted with a hybrid powertrain.

I'm guessing that this is left-hand drive.

Yes! Yes!

Which means... what does it mean?

It's bound for the states - maybe as an Acura?

What really stands out to you in this show?

- This year, it sounds to me and it looks to me that it's kind of the old nice ideas and concepts.
- It's a bit of shine back.

Yeah, and sports cars. Interesting.

It seems like the Japanese industry is coming back.

Next, Peter and Ukyo went to check out some of the more creative mobility concepts on display at the show.

The first vehicle they came across was this flying car.

Built by SkyDrive, the company is currently working on producing vehicles for personal use

as well as a multi-passenger vehicle for use as an air taxi.

The company is aiming to make its first commercial flight in 2025 at the Osaka World Expo.

Light and ultra-compact, it is designed to be able to take off and land in almost any urban environment.

Freeing passengers from traffic jams, crowded trains, and the bother of making transfers,

SkyDrive wants to make it possible for users to travel directly to their destinations.

In the future, we would like to use an auto-pilot system so that three passengers can ride in it.

But initially, the aircraft will be operated by a pilot.

Their next discovery was...

Now this is interesting!

A 4-legged passenger robot!

This is future mobility at its best.

Like Star Wars!

Yeah looks like it's inspired by Star Wars, doesn't it?

This might be the most mobile thing here!

So, what's so significant about this event's shift into a mobility show?

The motor show has transformed into the mobility show and cars are also evolving, too.

And what kind of world can we expect when different types of industries are coming together?

For example, in 2050, they say we should be carbon neutral, but will that world be a fun place to live in?

I want this event to be a place where everyone can come together and think about what kind of future they want to create.

That's why we say, "Let's find the future we want to drive towards together."

Next, our Samurai duo found their bread-and-butter in the motor sports zone!

The current F1 cars are huge, aren't they?

That's Max Verstappen's car.

Look at the size of it!

They're so much longer than they used to be, aren't they?

Now this is the car that Toyota ran in Le Mans.

As is, they basically brought it back, not washed it.

This is actually how you should display a race car. Straight from the race track.

After I took second place in Lemans, they also put the car on display for quite a while without washing it!

They even left the burst tire and other broken bits on it just as they were!

Speaking of racing, every year, Mazda holds the Media 4 Hours Endurance Race.

Taking place at the Tsukuba circuit, each team competes in the exact same model, the MX-5.

SAMURAI WHEELS once again participated in the race,

but sadly Ukyo wasn't able to join this year, leaving the team without his racing skills.

Hello Ukyo, here we are at Tsukuba Circuit once again for the Mazda 4-Hour Endurance Race.

And because you were not able to come this year unfortunately,

we have brought in champion drivers from New Zealand, Dean Evans, and the Philippines, Yuha Turalba,

and of course, our good friends from Gran Turismo, Yamada-kun, and Sakamoto-kun who helped us so much last year.

Last year, the SAMURAI WHEELS team put in its best performance yet and placed 2nd.

That much away from the victory.

So this year, we were forced to start with a hefty 3-and-a-half minute handicap.

But we didn't come to complain, we came to race!

Just like last year, Peter was the first driver up.

From the start, the team couldn't manage to improve its position.

As the race went on, the team began to fall further behind.

The team's mood gradually began to darken.

Even last year's champion ran into trouble.

So was the SAMURAI WHEELS team able to claw its way back into race...?

This year it was more like a practice run for next year.

So, you're saying you can't win without me!

Now we're at the Nissan stand. We go through here.

I've just heard that the car they've unveiled is one of the highlights of the show.

One vehicle here really stood out and attracted droves of foreign and local media.

The Nissan Hyperforce.

A sports concept with the performance specs to match its aggressive looks.

This is Nissan's special car for this show.

And it looks like an electric version of a new GT-R.

Yeah, but we're not calling it that.

We created this super sports car by thinking about how we could offer the most exciting vehicle possible in the age of electric cars.

Nissan set out to show people the sort of next-generation high-performance sports car it is capable of producing.

The carbon fiber body and a solid-state battery keep its weight to a minimum.

Currently, most EVs make use of lithium-ion batteries, which are not only large,

but require sandwiching a positive and negative electrode around a liquid electrolyte - making them extremely heavy.

This has affected how EVs can be designed and placed limitations on their maneuverability and performance.

However, Solid-state batteries are expected to change everything.

Just as the name suggests, solid state batteries replace the heavy liquid electrolyte with a solid substance.

In addition to offering better performance and increased capacity,

they don't have shape restrictions and can be made thinner and lighter than their lithium predecessors.

Nissan is pairing the batteries to an in-house electric powertrain

that can produce up to 1,000Kw of output to ensure precise and rapid acceleration.

The feeling you get from it is that it's the next-generation GT-R.

It's what we've all been talking about, we've all been hearing about it for the last 5 or 6 years.

Will Nissan make a new GT-R? Will it be electric? Will it be hybrid?

To me, that looks like a GT-R, an electric version.

But it seems to be using a lot of race technology.

Look at that diffuser, that is basically from a GT-3 race car, isn't it?

That's a really good point.

Actually, this car was created in collaboration with specialists from NISMO.

So it was built using quite a bit of Nissan's racing know-how and technologies.

The company also introduced other BEV concept models.

Nissan announced its plans to launch a BEV equipped with its new solid state battery technology in 2028.

It expects this game-changing technology will be the key to further promoting adoption of BEVs.

Mitsubishi held the world premiere of its D:X concept car - an electrified crossover MPV.

Subaru chose to debut a concept vehicle of its own - a batter electric vehicle...

called the Sport Mobility Concept.

The star-studded maker looked to the skies with another vehicle that signifies a new frontier...

with its Air Mobility concept.

What do you think of the show, and what's your best car here?

My favorite car is probably everyone's, which is the Mazda Ionic SP.

I think they've done a great job, whether it's the new MX5 or not, who knows?

- It might be the new RX-something.
- Exactly.

Mazda's show-stopping design teams once again didn't fail to deliver a feast for auto lovers' eyes.

While no one questioned the design language - another debate raged among fans and experts alike...

Could we say that this is the next-generation MX-5? Or the next-generation RX-something?

RX-9 maybe.

We'd like to leave that up to everyone's imaginations.

For this event, we really wanted to show off our new rotary EV system.

It's got a twin rotor engine in it and can go about 200km on the electric motor alone.

So, in usual driving conditions, it operates just like a standard battery electric vehicle.

But, if you want to go beyond that range...

You can use the rotary engine to generate electricity and power the motor - making it possible to drive about 1,000km.

So, it also fits into the plug-in hybrid category.

Mazda's rotary Hybrid provides the torque and performance of an electric motor

and uses a rotary engine to power a center-mounted generator.

This allows for peace of mind when enjoying long-distance driving that would cause concern for standard BEV owners.

The total power output is about 370 horsepower.

That puts its power-to-weight ratio at less than 4kg, which is in the same range as a Porsche 911.

I want to drive this on the track, so I had them put a two-rotor in it!

Yes, yes! Exactly.

There is another difference: In addition to going from a one-rotor to a two-rotor,

this one is vertically mounted.

It's vertically mounted, and the rotary engine is placed as far back and as low as possible, giving it a very sporty form factor.

Moro-san, how could you!

This really isn't fair!

Since this now the "Mobility Show," all the companies were focused on that main concept.

Sure there were some sporty EVs on display by other makers,

but when I saw this, I realized that the origins of a car are also important.

But you also need to look cool or have a beautiful design.

Not only have you done all that, but you unveiled a car with excellent driving performance that's also eco-friendly.

That's why it's not fair!

This took my breath away as much as the RX-VISION did last time - it's so cool!

So what did you think of the show?

Yeah, well because of this major shift from motor show to mobility show...

it was really interesting to see how the different makers approached the event.

Take Toyota, for example.

Their new Global Architecture has been around for a while now.

It uses the same platform but with different designs.

But now that they've changed to EVs, they've made the battery thinner and improved the driving performance of their vehicles.

It was fun to think about how things might change when certain vehicles are turned into EVs.

Talking about EVs a lot here, but I've been speaking with some of the many many foreign media who are here.

And a lot of them have focused on Japan as being late to get on the EV wave.

They were late to take up EVs.

Now they're seeing a lot of EVs at this show. So they're thinking that Japan is finally starting to catch up.

All the Japanese manufacturers have EVs at last.

But for me it comes down to the Mazda.

Your No.1 Car.

It just blew me away.

20 years or 30 years from now it's still going to be stunning, because beauty like that doesn't fade.

Yeah, changing the name to the mobility show was a big deal... but that car man, it's so cool!

Yeah, I think the powertrain sounds very good too.

The new rotary engine. Twin-rotor rotary that is actually a generator that powers the electric motor to drive the car.

3-wheel drive. 370 horsepower. That sounds like something that will sell.

And we got to witness this overall shift toward B-E-Vs, which is really inspiring!

Looking at Japan - VIEW THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD.

Today we're driving in the Yaesu area around Tokyo Station.