Toyota City, Japan, Dec 27, 2024 - (JCN Newswire via SeaPRwire.com) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) is gearing up for the ultimate test of endurance and skill as the 2025 Dakar Rally draws near. The race, known for its demanding nature and unpredictable challenges, will once again unfold across Saudi Arabia, with competitors facing over 8,000 kilometres of treacherous terrain, including more than 5,000 kilometres of timed special stages. This year’s event promises to push competitors to their limits as they tackle one of the toughest routes in recent history.The 2025 Dakar Rally will set the stage for the FIA/FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), serving as the opening round of the season. A strong performance in this first race is critical for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, as it aims to continue the momentum of its successful 2024 W2RC campaign, which saw the Japanese car maker secure the Manufacturers’ Championship for the third consecutive year.The sixth edition of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia is expected to deliver one of the most challenging routes to date. Competitors will begin their journey in Bisha, a city in the south-western quadrant of the country, before navigating through a meticulously designed course that takes advantage of the region’s diverse and demanding terrains. The rally opens with a prologue stage on January 3, allowing competitors to establish their starting order before launching into the main event.The route features numerous highlights, including the gruelling 48-hour Chrono Stage that will test endurance early in the race, and the marathon stage where teams must rely solely on their own skills and resources to make it through the night without external assistance. The iconic Empty Quarter dunes return as a centrepiece of the rally’s second week, presenting participants with towering sand dunes and challenging navigation that will separate the field.In total, the race includes 12 stages with stage distances ranging from the short yet demanding 134-kilometre final day to the punishing 606-kilometre Stage 6. The rest day on January 10 in Hail will offer a brief respite, but the intensity resumes immediately afterward as competitors tackle the longest timed specials and challenging dunes in the second week. The rally will conclude in Shubaytah on January 17, where a celebratory podium awaits the successful finishers.TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will field six crews in the 2025 Dakar Rally, a blend of seasoned experience and youthful talent. Lucas Moraes, partnered with Armand Monleon (#203), and Seth Quintero, partnered with Dennis Zenz (#204), represent the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (Europe) contingent. Meanwhile, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa squad includes Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz (#206), Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings (#211), Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy (#205), and Saood Variawa with Francois Cazalet (#218). Together, the six crews form one of the most balanced and competitive line-ups in the rally.Each crew will rely on the race-proven GR DKR Hilux Evo, the latest iteration of Toyota’s rally-raid platform. Building on the success of the 2024 model, the 2025 Hilux Evo features refinements to key systems and components aimed at maximising reliability, durability, and performance in the unforgiving conditions of the Dakar Rally. These improvements align with Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence in building ever-better cars.Prior to the race, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will begin its journey with meticulous preparation. After the race cars arrive in Saudi Arabia, they will be fully reassembled by the technical crews. The race crews will then complete a thorough pre-race shakedown to ensure the cars are performing flawlessly before the event begins. All race crews and technical team members will undergo the mandatory accreditation process to receive the necessary credentials to participate. Finally, the cars will pass through rigorous technical inspections, where race officials will ensure they comply with Dakar’s stringent regulations. This includes checks on driver safety equipment, vehicle systems, and the crews’ eligibility to compete.Quotes TGR teamLucas Moraes:“The Dakar Rally is always the ultimate test for both the drivers and the cars, and this year’s route looks like one of the toughest yet. From the dunes of the Empty Quarter to the challenging rocky sections, every day will be a battle. The GR DKR Hilux Evo has proven itself time and again, and with the refinements made for 2025, I’m confident we have the perfect machine to take on the challenge. I’m excited to kick off the season and see how we measure up against such a demanding course.”Seth Quintero:“The 2025 Dakar Rally is going to be an incredible challenge, and I can’t wait to take it on. The route is brutal, and we know there won’t be any easy days out there, but that’s what makes Dakar so special. The GR DKR Hilux Evo is built for these extreme conditions, and the improvements the team has made give us the confidence to push even harder. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve in such an iconic event.” Copyright 2024 JCN Newswire via SeaPRwire.com.

TOKYO, Dec 27, 2024 - (JCN Newswire via SeaPRwire.com) - The General Incorporated Association Generative AI Japan, in collaboration with Nikkei Business, an economic media outlet published and operated by Nikkei BP, today announced the winners of the Japan Generative AI Award 2024, which recognize outstanding examples of Generative AI applications, including the Grand Prix and other awards. This award was held for the first time this year, and 139 applications were received over a period of about one month from early September to early October. A panel of judges made up of experts in the field of Generative AI conducted a rigorous review, and eight awards were given out, including the Grand Prix.The names of the projects, organizations and overview of the projects of the one grand prix winner, two special award winners, and five excellence award winners of the Japan Generative AI Award 2024 are as follows.One Grand Prix Winner for Japan Generative AI Award 2024Nagoya Railroad Group's project to utilize Generative AI in three layers, Nagoya Railroad Co., Ltd.The Nagoya Railroad/Meitetsu Group is promoting the use of Generative AI as part of its Group DX management agenda, and the Digital Promotion Department is developing tools and providing support for their use, with three levels of utilization. Depending on the level of utilization, tools that can be used widely within the Group and tools that can use RAG are deployed. Through strengthening controls and providing support for utilization, they are promoting the recognition of the effectiveness of Generative AI by those in charge of operations and the creation of utilization cases that directly contribute to service improvement.Two Special Award Winners for Japan Generative AI Award 2024A solution for supporting hospital management that maximizes human capital, made possible by generative AI, Ubie, Inc.“Ubie Medical Navi Generative AI” is being used in a variety of situations at medical institutions, with an intuitive UI that supports nearly 20 use cases and flexible prompt tuning. In the case of the discharge summary creation use case, there was a significant 42.5% improvement in efficiency and a 27% reduction in psychological burden between the groups that used the generative AI and those that did not (n=189). By appropriately allocating the resources created by this efficiency improvement, they aim to support hospital management and ultimately optimize Japan's medical expenses.A society where anyone can get legal advice - AI legal consultation chat service using generative AI, Bengo4.com, Inc.“Chat Legal Consultation” is Japan's first AI legal consultation chat service, which has been trained using questions and answers extracted from the more than 1.38 million consultation data received by “Legal Consultation for Everyone”, a free legal consultation service operated by Bengo4.com. It specializes in gender-related issues, which account for a large proportion of legal consultations, and currently has around 56,000 consultations. *This service does not provide legal opinions, nor does it replace the services provided by lawyers.Five Excellence Award Winners for Japan Generative AI Award 2024A new era of business innovation, made possible by Generative AI, NEC Business Intelligence, Ltd.NEC Business Intelligence is using generative AI to implement cross-functional reforms in common tasks such as accounting and human resources, which had been an issue for 10 years. They have shifted the focus of business efficiency from people to generative AI and have redesigned their business processes with generative AI at their core. They introduced examples and business impacts for each layer that have achieved overall optimization by implementing business reforms in a balanced way across three layers (user experience, operations, and platform), rather than just focusing on the effects of individual measures.Approximately 10,000 hours of labor per year saved in the production of promotional emails using generated AI + RPA, Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd.When sending promotional emails to the 7iD members, who number approximately 35 million, there were two issues: the cost issue of the significant time and expense involved in creating the emails, and the effectiveness issue of improving the open rate (the percentage of emails opened). These issues were solved using AI and RPA. As a result, production time was reduced by approximately 10,000 hours per year, and outsourcing costs were reduced by approximately 84%. In addition, the open rate for emails improved by approximately 103%.Building material selection assistant using “Tile AI”, TileLife Co., Ltd.This is a website where you can easily search for the tiles you want using a dialogue format with a tile-specialist AI that crosses over tile manufacturers. 28 tile manufacturers (over 30,000 products) have already joined, so there is no need to compare multiple catalogs. Designers and architects can greatly reduce the time spent choosing tiles and focus on their creative work. In the future, with AI-based multilingual support, they aim to provide convenience and enjoyment in choosing tiles in the global tile market, which is more than 300 times the size of the Japanese tile market.Democratization of Generative AI - Everyone can use Generative AI to create a new form of work that will open up the future, Lion Corporation.At LION, they have been promoting the use of Generative AI since its early stages, with the commitment of the management team, but they faced the problem that the needs of each department were increasing and development could not keep up. Therefore, they introduced a tool that could be developed by ordinary employees on their own cloud. As a result, many cases of use have been created, and AI agents that lead to increased operational efficiency and quality are being created. In the future, they will further promote the “democratization of Generative AI” and acquire the competitiveness to realize their management vision.Development of a unique AI system customized for schools to enhance educational activities, Kudan Secondary SchoolAmidst the growing demand for digital human resource development using Generative AI, they have developed the “otomotto” Generative AI system, which is suitable for use in junior high and high school education. This system provides an environment where all students can choose and use the LLM model without age or usage restrictions and supports safe and efficient learning. Examples of its use include supporting individual optimal learning for students, and it also reduces the burden on teachers by streamlining the preparation of teaching materials. This system is making a significant contribution to improving the quality of education.Overview of the Japan Generative AI Award 2024Judging Criteria: Problem setting, Implementation, Impact, Governance, Potential for the future.Head of the Judging Committee: Hiroaki Miyata, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Keio University / Representative Director, The General Incorporated Association Generative AI JapanJury members:Akiko Murakami, Director, Japan AI Safety InstituteKan Suzuki, Professor, Tokyo University and Keio UniversityMizuki Oka, Associate Professor, Department of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba / Representative Director, ConnectSphere Inc.Shigeru Urushibara, Chairman and CEO, UL Systems, Inc.Akihiko Kono, Executive Officer, Associate Vice President, CIO, Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd.Keisuke Kuniyoshi, General Manager, Data Solutions Department, Benesse Holdings, Inc.Masahiro Sato, Professor and Assistant to the President, Digital Hollywood UniversityEri Shirai, Executive Officer, Members Co., Ltd. / President, Member's Data Adventure CompanyEmi Tamaki, Professor, Faculty of Engineering, University of the Ryukyus / Representative Director, H2L Inc. / Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, University of TokyoJoji Noritake, President and Representative Director, Baycurrent Consulting Inc.Tomio Kikyoubara, Fellow, Nikkei BP Research InstituteToshiyuki Sugiyama, Chief Consultant, Senior Researcher, Nikkei BP Research InstituteNaotaka Owada, Director, Innovation ICT Laboratory, Nikkei BP Research InstituteTakashi Hara, Editor-in-Chief of Nikkei Business OnlineOrganized by The General Incorporated Association Generative AI JapanCo-sponsored by Nikkei BusinessSupported by Nikkei BP Research InstituteSupported by: Digital Agency, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, JETRO, Information-technology Promotion Agency, AI Safety Institute, Japan Deep Learning AssociationAbout Nikkei BPCompany name: Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.Date of establishment: April 5, 1969Representative: Tetsuya Iguchi, President and CEOAddress: 4-3-12 Toranomon, Minato-ku, TokyoURL: https://www.nikkeibp.co.jp/About The General Incorporated Association Generative AI JapanThe General Incorporated Association Generative AI Japan was established in January 2024 with the aim of promoting the use of Generative AI through industry-academia collaboration, developing rules and guidelines, making recommendations, and so on, and enhancing Japan's industrial competitiveness. The representative director is Professor Hiroaki Miyata of the Faculty of Medicine at Keio University, and 18 experts from academia and cutting-edge companies have been appointed as directors and advisors, with 70 companies as members. (As of November 2024)Organization name: General Incorporated Association Generative AI JapanDate of registration: January 9, 2024Representative director: Hiroaki MiyataAddress: 1-34 Ochiai, Tama City, TokyoURL: https://generativeaijapan.or.jp/ContactFor inquiries regarding this announcement, please contact the Generative AI Japan Secretariat ( jimukyoku@generativeaijapan.or.jp ) Copyright 2024 JCN Newswire via SeaPRwire.com.

TOKYO, Dec 27, 2024 - (JCN Newswire via SeaPRwire.com) - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has been selected for inclusion in the "World Index" of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), one of the world's leading investment indices for ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance. This is the second consecutive year that MHI has been included in the world index.The Company scored an overall ranking in the 97th percentile, in reflection of its strong initiatives in all ESG areas and the high quality of its disclosure reports.The DJSI was developed in 1999 by the U.S. firm S&P Dow Jones Indices and the Swiss investment advisory company RobecoSAM. Based on long-term shareholder value, listed companies around the world are assessed in terms of their overall economic, environmental, and social criteria, with those determined to have exceptional sustainability selected for inclusion in the index. MHI was one of 321 companies selected for the DJSI's 2024 World Index (of which 37 were Japanese companies).MHI Group proactively implements a diverse portfolio of ESG measures toward realizing a sustainable society. These include measures to reduce environmental loads from its own and its value chain, active promotion of diversity, and strengthening of the Company's corporate governance and disclosures.Going forward, MHI will continue robust pursuit of its dual aims of realizing a sustainable society and building up its enterprise value over the long term.About MHI GroupMitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com. Copyright 2024 JCN Newswire via SeaPRwire.com.

Toyota City, Japan, Dec 26, 2024 - (JCN Newswire via SeaPRwire.com) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) plans to exhibit at Tokyo Auto Salon 2025* to be held at Makuhari Messe (in Chiba City, Japan) for three days from January 10 to 12, 2025. Chairman Akio Toyoda, aka Master Driver Morizo, is due to present at a press conference scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. on January 10 under the main theme of "Car-making at Nürburgring", which is the starting point of TGR and Morizo.TGR is set to exhibit this time, along with Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd., at Makuhari Messe's North Hall. TGR's booth will include the "LAND CRUISER BASE" display for promoting the fun of customizing the Toyota Land Cruiser, which was hitherto put on separately by Toyota Auto Body Co., Ltd. This coming together by members of the Toyota Group aims to boost excitement at Tokyo Auto Salon 2025.During the event's three days, TGR plans to hold talk sessions featuring various personalities, as well as outdoor vehicle demo runs. Detailed information on exhibited vehicles, the talk sessions, the demo runs, and others can be found on the following special https://toyotagazooracing.com/eventexhibition/tokyoautosalon/Nürburgring―Morizo's starting pointTGR's exhibit is planned to feature vehicles related to competing at the Nürburgring, which is known as the world's toughest road circuit and the starting point of TGR and Morizo. Morizo and then-Toyota Master Driver Hiromu Naruse, who was Morizo's driving mentor, based on their shared belief that "races are the best places to pass on skills and develop human resources", competed in the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race for the first time in 2007. In their "DIY-style" team that took up the challenge, Toyota employees served as drivers and engineers, and the vehicle they competed in was a modified used Toyota Altezza. Representing the starting point of TGR's philosophy of making ever-better motorsports-bred cars, TGR plans to display, among other cars, the TOYOTA ALTEZZA #109 (2007 NÜR 24h) used by that first team and the TOYOTA SUPRA (NÜR training car) that served as Morizo's Nürburgring training vehicle at the time.Talk sessions and outdoor demo runsThe talk sessions, under the theme of "Challenging the Nürburgring", are to feature Morizo and TGR drivers active in Japan and abroad as well as various programs including one in which professional drivers, evaluation drivers, and engineers talk about the past and future. Also, Morizo, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing-World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala, TGR-WRT Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen, and driver Norihiko Katsuta are to perform outdoor demo runs in a rally cars and a concept vehicle model. Details on the dates, times, and contents will be posted on the special website mentioned above as they become available.*A customized car event; January 10: business day (industry and press), January 11 and 12: general public days. Copyright 2024 JCN Newswire via SeaPRwire.com.