Toyota – a major sponsor of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – no longer plans to broadcast advertising videos in Japan, and its president, Akio Toyoda, will not attend the opening ceremony for the Games, scheduled for this Friday. Toyota’s decision reflects the choice, increasingly widespread among the companies sponsoring the Games, not to see their brand associated with a potentially negative event, given the high level of opposition within public opinion in Japan.
The head of communication of the Japanese auto house, Jun Nagata, explained that a series of films had been produced containing different messages with the main sports athletes, and “whose purpose has now taken on a different meaning”. Nagata, however, added that Toyota will continue to support all sportsmen involved in the Games and that it will regularly provide its green cars during the organization of the event.
