DAIHATSU ONE!

June 18, 2025

Creating a Memorable Initiation Ceremony
- Struggles Faced by the Organizers -

Developing Human Resources

  • Partners
  • Company Entrance Ceremony
  • New employees
  • Personnel
  • One Team
  • Connection

Introduction

On April 1, 2025, Daihatsu Motor held its initiation ceremony. On this special day that welcomed 227 new “Partners,” the “Welcome Video” played at the venue caused a big stir. Employees from various locations in Japan and overseas appeared in the video and cheerfully delivered their welcome messages, creating lasting impressions in the memories of new employees.

First, please watch the Welcome Video!

Hello, everyone! I am Uegaito from the Inner Communication Group. Thank you for watching the video!
Even though we are all Daihatsu employees, we do not get to see each other very often because we work in different places, but we all share the same feeling of wanting to welcome new employees! Through the video, many “Partners” got connected!
In fact, there were many more ways new employees were welcomed at the initiation ceremony besides this video. In this article, I would like to share with you the Human Resources Division’s thoughts and feelings on the initiation ceremony in an interview format!

Concept: A Special Ceremony Where People Can Feel Fondness, Positivity, and Be Glad to Have Joined Daihatsu

Education Group, Human Resources Development Department, Human Resources Division
From the left: Shiori Yamamoto, Keiichirou Motonishi, Tomohito Shirai, Ryo Nakayama

—The Welcome Video was excellent!

Mr. Nakayama: Thank you. The Welcome Video was created together with members of the Styling Division, but this year we placed particular emphasis on “Connection” and “One Team.” We gave it a major revamp to create a presentation where everyone, including those in our overseas bases, could welcome new employees together.

Mr. Motonishi: To make this video more approachable, we asked many young employees who were closer in age to appear in the video. At some locations, almost all of the employees appeared in the video, and some even flew drones… I think Daihatsu’s atmosphere was conveyed very well through the video.

—Was this year’s initiation ceremony different from usual?

Mr. Motonishi: Yes, we have been proceeding with the goal of having new employees learn the attitudes of “genchi-genbutsu (going to the source of a problem and clarifying the problem with one’s own eyes),” “problem solving,” and “serving others” through a series of new employee events, from prospective employee training to post-employment introductory training to research training, and we thought of staging the initiation ceremony as part of these events.

Mr. Nakayama: We reviewed what we do at our annual initiation ceremony again from the perspective of “customers = new employees.”

Ms. Yamamoto: However, sometimes opinions clashed when trying new things. Still, everyone shared the same desire to have employees feel fondness for Daihatsu and be glad that they joined the company. So, we refused to give up on these new challenges.

—New employees are customers?

Mr. Nakayama: Yes. By viewing new employees as “customers,” we can clarify the purpose of what we are doing, inevitably determine how we will contribute, and look back on the results more easily. I believe that this attitude naturally led to various improvements and new challenges at the initiation ceremony and training sessions.

—That is precisely Daihatsu’s mission: to stay close to our customers and enrich their lives!

Becoming One Team with a Unique Daihatsu Initiation Ceremony!

—By the way, all new employees wear the same lanyard, right?

Mr. Motonishi: That’s right! We made matching lanyards with the hope that they will develop “ties with their peers” and a “fondness for Daihatsu.” The lanyards were emblazoned with the words “Start Our Engine,” which the new employees came up with during the prospective employee training. The Styling Division created several design ideas for the lanyards, and everyone decided on this one. We hope that they will always cherish these words, along with “Partners,” as a slogan among peers.

—Are there any specific areas you struggled with in planning the initiation ceremony?

Mr. Nakayama: For the first time, Daihatsu cars from past to present were displayed side by side. This was the idea of President Inoue, who wanted new employees to feel the history of Daihatsu.

Mr. Shirai: It was very difficult to give shape to this production, but we were able to realize it with the cooperation of many people.

Mr. Shirai: There are many restrictions to moving old cars, such as rain and oil leaks, and there is limited space for the 10 or so cars in the company space.
We came up with the idea of utilizing Ikeda Plant No. 2, which is located behind Daihatsu Motor Head Office! We asked the plant manager thinking it was a long shot, but he agreed readily.
That was the site where Daihatsu’s first mini vehicle, the Fellow, and the first collaboration with Toyota, the Publica, were manufactured, making it the perfect place to experience Daihatsu’s history. As a fitting tribute to Daihatsu’s history, the ceremony proudly displayed cars that have shaped each era, including the Midget, the Yaris Cross (Indonesia), which has been active overseas, and the Rocky Hybrid, which is packed with the latest technology.

Mr. Shirai: Furthermore, on the day of the initiation ceremony, senior employees welcomed everyone with high-fives on the route from the main hall of the Head Office, where the ceremony was held, to Ikeda Plant No. 2, where the vehicles were displayed. Despite the hasty announcement, more than 150 people gathered! They were overflowing with the desire to welcome the new “Partners” who had just joined Daihatsu.

New Employees Will Someday Become Creators of “Customer Delight”

— I hope that when it comes time for the recently welcomed new employees to welcome the next round of new employees, they will have the desire to make them happy too. If people like that were involved in the planning, it could initiate an ever-growing positive cycle.

Mr. Motonishi: That’s right. I was very happy to hear some of the new employees offer to help. In fact, the final assignment of the introductory training was to improve the initiation ceremony. If there are better ideas, we would like to incorporate them. Haha.

—Finally, please deliver a message to our new “Partners!”

Education Group, Human Resources Development Department, Human Resources Division
From the left: Tomohito Shirai, Keiichirou Motonishi, Shiori Yamamoto, Ryo Nakayama

Mr. Nakayama: Always think of who your customer is, use all of your wisdom to serve others, and see things through to the end without giving up! We believe in you!!

Initiation Ceremony (Please check out the video!)

The people in this article

  • Education Group, Human Resources Development Department, Human Resources Division

    Ryo Nakayama

  • Education Group, Human Resources Development Department, Human Resources Division

    Keiichirou Motonishi

  • Education Group, Human Resources Development Department, Human Resources Division

    Tomohito Shirai

  • Education Group, Human Resources Development Department, Human Resources Division

    Shiori Yamamoto

Back to all articles

All categories

DAIHATSU ONE!

    DAIHATSU ONE!

    Open in-house magazine “DAIHATSU ONE!”
    Connecting all Daihatsu “Partners” inside and outside the company, in Japan and overseas

    “ONE” stands for:
    Open
    Network
    Empowerment
    It means: “to expand our network of people and organizations openly and think and act with empowerment.”

    Our editorial policy is to communicate in an honest, easy-to-understand, and enjoyable manner.
    We will shine a spotlight on each and every person (ONE) who works hard every day “to stay close to our customers and enrich their lives.”
    In the spirit of ONE Team, we will expand our circle of “Partners” to create a better in-house magazine.

    We aim to become beloved by customers, employees, and stakeholders by going beyond the boundaries of sites, job types, and positions to communicate, empathize with, and improve each other .

    Apa itu DAIHATSU ONE! ? (Indonesia)

    “DAIHATSU ONE!” adalah buletin internal terbuka
    Menghubungkan semua “Sahabat” Daihatsu, di dalam atau di luar perusahaan, di Jepang dan di luar Jepang.

    “ONE” merupakan singkatan dari fitur-fitur berikut:
    (Open) terbuka
    (Network) memperluas jaringan orang dan organisasi
    (Empowerment) berpikir dan bertindak secara mandiri

    Kebijakan editorial kami adalah menyampaikan informasi secara jujur, gampang dimengerti, dan menyenangkan.
    Kami akan fokus pada setiap individu (ONE) yang bekerja keras setiap hari untuk “tetap dekat dengan pelanggan dan memperkaya kehidupan mereka,” dan dengan semangat satu (ONE) tim, kami akan memperluas lingkaran “Sahabat” dan bekerja sama untuk membuat buletin perusahaan yang lebih baik.

    Tujuan kami berkomunikasi satu sama lain, saling berempati, dan saling memperbaiki dengan melampaui batasan lokasi, jenis pekerjaan, dan posisi, serta menjadi DAIHATSU yang dicintai oleh pelanggan, karyawan, dan para pemangku kepentingan.

    Apa itu DAIHATSU ONE! ? (Melayu)

    Surat berita dalaman terbuka “DAIHATSU ONE!”
    Menghubungkan semua “Rakan Kongsi” Daihatsu di dalam dan di luar syarikat, di Jepun dan luar negara

    “ONE” bermaksud:
    Open (Terbuka)
    Network (Rangkaian)
    Empowerment (Pemerkasaan)
    Ia bermaksud: “untuk mengembangkan rangkaian orang dan organisasi kami secara terbuka dan berfikir dan bertindak dengan pemerkasaan.”

    Dasar penyuntingan kami adalah untuk berkomunikasi dengan cara yang jujur, mudah difahami dan menyeronokkan.
    Kami akan menyorot perhatian kepada setiap orang (ONE) yang bekerja keras setiap hari “untuk kekal dekat dengan pelanggan kami dan memperkayakan kehidupan mereka.”
    Dengan semangat Pasukan ONE, kami akan mengembangkan kalangan “Rakan Kongsi” kami untuk mencipta majalah dalaman yang lebih baik.

    Kami berhasrat untuk menjadi “Daihatsu yang disayangi” oleh pelanggan, pekerja dan pihak berkepentingan dengan melangkaui sempadan tapak, jenis pekerjaan dan jawatan untuk berkomunikasi, berempati dan memperbaiki satu sama lain.