We Are Tomodachi Winter 2016

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29Valeo, headquartered in Paris, is a major supplier of automotive components. The company has established business operations in 32 countries, and it has positioned Japan, with its many world-class automobile makers, as an important platform for its global strategies. Since establishing its local subsidiary, Valeo Japan, in 1985, it has set up production operations at nine locations and R&D operations at three locations in Japan.Valeo is also involved in self-driving technology, an arena in which the world’s automobile makers are competing fiercely. The company has developed automated parking system technology with proven results in Europe. Valeo intends to leverage this technology to develop more sophisticated self-driving technology. “Japan is where many of our automotive customers are based,” explains Valeo Japan Director Shoji Akiyama regarding the company’s investments in Japan. “It’s not conceivable for us to respond quickly to the demands of Japanese automakers without having R&D facilities here.”Valeo Japan’s R&D facilities for self-driving technology are situated in Tsukuba Science City, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Tokyo. In January 2016, the company completed an exclusive test track for self-driving automobiles. “Tsukuba is Japan’s Silicon Valley,” says Akiyama. “It’s the site of the Japan Automobile Research Institute, a comprehensive experimental research institute for automobiles. It’s also home to many research institutes and universities involved in artificial intelligence, robotics, and other innovative technologies. And human resources are plentiful.”The Japanese government is actively promoting innovations in the automotive sector, such as establishing a roadmap for the commercialization of self-driving cars by 2020. “We particularly expect that Japan, in light of the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will be a vibrant innovation mega cluster in autonomous and connected driving, which we are excited to be contributing to,” declares Marc Vrecko, president of Valeo’s Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems Business Group.Japan Leads the World in Self-Driving TechnologyMarc VRECKOBusiness Group PresidentValeo Comfort & Driving Assistance SystemsTsukuba Techno Center in Tsukuba Science City, 50 km northeast of Tokyo. Since self-driving automobiles require highly confidential technology development, Valeo built an exclusive test track.Cruise4U is a self-driving automobile being developed by Valeo. The vehicle completed a journey around France in November 2015 and 24 hours of continuous driving on the Boulevard Périphérique in Paris in September 2016.Investment Case: Valeo JapanTsukuba CityTsukuba Techno CenterTokyoTokyo International Airport

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