Inside the doors at Nissan Motor Corporation, we hope that each one of us will continue to be among these "Moving "People" who influence customers emotionally well into the future, continuing the proud tradition established and maintained over the past 80 years.

As a result of our employees' efforts and innovations, Nissan was able to shape its history for 80 years while overcoming countless difficulties and achieving great success.

We would like to feature our past and present employees who contribute to Nissan and highlight the soul inherited in Nissan.

Writers of Japan's leading car magazine Car Graphic, which marked its 50th anniversary last year, will go beyond a mere biography and shed light on the roots of Nissan based on their extensive insight into the auto industry.

Nissan Legend 1
Yoshisuke Aikawa: A Modern Man with Insight

Nissan Legend 2
Yutaka Katayama: A Determined Visionary

Nissan Legend 3
Hiroyoshi Kato: The Man Who Found His Calling

Nissan Legend 4
Shin'ichiro Sakurai: The Real Face of Mr. Skyline

Nissan Legend 5
Tadao Takahashi: Giving Life to the Factory

Nissan Legend 6
Kyoko Shimada: Hailed as a "Pioneer"

Nissan Legend 7
Sir Ian Gibson: An Englishman Who Served as a Bridge Between Japan and Europe

Nissan Legend 8
Hideaki Horie: Electric Vehicles Will Accelerate the Networking of Energy

Nissan Legend 9
Shozo Sato: Design Illustrates Culture

Nissan Legend 10
Yoshikazu Hanawa: Towards Today's Global Nissan

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Not only as the founder of Nissan Motor but also as a great figure who wrote an important page in the history of the Japanese automobile industry, Yoshisuke Aikawa stands out as one of Japan's greatest men, whose stories should be handed down from generation to generation.
Nissan Legend Yoshisuke Aikawa: A Modern Man with Insight
Sir Ian Gibson joined Ford Motor Company upon graduating from university. At Ford, he worked primarily in industrial relations and manufacturing management and rose to be general operations manager. He moved to Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd. (NMUK) in 1984 to be the director of the department responsible for purchasing and production control at Nissan’s new plant in Sunderland, in the county of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, which was just starting operations.
Nissan Legend Sir Ian Gibson: An Englishman Who Served as a Bridge Between Japan and Europe
Horie was born the city of Hiroshima in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1957. He joined Nissan Motor Company in 1985 and was assigned to the Materials Laboratory at the company’s research center in Oppama, in Kanagawa Prefecture, outside Tokyo. He has been a project professor at the Institute of Industrial Science of the University of Tokyo since 2011 and a senior innovation researcher (SIR) at Nissan Motor since 2012.
Nissan Legend Hideaki Horie: Electric Vehicles Will Accelerate the Networking of Energy
Because Hiroyoshi Kato had never been taught at a driving school and had not really driven much privately, he hadn't developed any particular habits when driving and, as a result, he was able to absorb an enormous amount of the knowledge and techniques required for a test driver very rapidly, like a sponge soaking up water.
Nissan Legend Hiroyoshi Kato
Tadao Takahashi was born in 1945 in Fukuoka Prefecture after his mother had been evacuated to her family home. In 1968, he graduated from the Department of Industrial Mechanical Engineering (now the Department of Mechanical Engineering) in the Faculty of Engineering at Tokyo University, following which he joined Nissan Motor. He was responsible for closing the Zama Plant in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1992 as the deputy head of Technologies Department 1. Before resigning in 2009 and assuming directorships at various external organizations, Takahashi became a senior vice president in 1998, was promoted to executive vice president in 2002, and was named vice-chairman in 2007.
Nissan Legend Tadao Takahashi: Giving Life to the Factory
Born in September 1909, in what is now Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Mr. K joined the company in 1935 and was assigned to the Administration Department, first handling publicity and then advertising. Notably, he put together the key concepts for the Z-car, contributing significantly to the birth of an exceptional sports car still revered by driving enthusiasts. Among other key achievements, Katayama promoted the first All-Japan Motor Show in 1954, as well as laid the foundations for Nissan North America.
Nissan Legend Yutaka Katayama: A Determined Visionary
Shin’ichiro Sakurai lived from 1929 until 2011. He was born on April 3, 1929 in the city of Totsuka in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo. He grew up in an academic family. His father was a scholar specializing in Chinese classics (Sinology), while his mother was a former schoolteacher. During his childhood he secretly nurtured the dream of working in the auto industry at a time when all children like him were expected to say that they wanted to dedicate themselves to serving their country when they got older. He made his dream come true and was involved in the development of the first Skyline, and then made the head of the development team for the third generation of this iconic model, which is nicknamed “Hako-Ska” (the Boxy Skyline).
Nissan Legend Shin'ichiro Sakurai: Giving Life to the Factory
Kyoko Shimada grew up in Tokyo. She joined Nissan Motor as a designer in 1967 after graduating from the Japan Women’s University with a major in architecture. She worked in various fields, including product planning, a corporate identity project, sales planning, public relations, corporate citizenship activities, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). After she retired in 2005, she served as a director, secretary general, and part-time lecturer at the Japan Women’s University. Since September 2010, she has been the representative director, director general of the Yokohama Arts Foundation.
Nissan Legend Kyoko Shimada: Hailed as a “Pioneer”
Yoshikazu Hanawa was born in Tokyo in 1934. He joined Nissan Motor in 1957 upon graduating from the Faculty of Economics at Tokyo University. He worked mainly in the human resources field and was appointed a director in 1985 and promoted to representative director and president in 1996. He served as representative director, chairman, and CEO in 2000 and was named representative director and chairman in 2001. He retired and was appointed advisor and honorary chairman in 2003.
Nissan Legend Yoshikazu Hanawa: Towards Today's Global Nissan
Shozo Sato joined Nissan Motor in 1937 and was transferred to the Design Department in 1948. He was appointed the head of the Body Design Team in 1950 and became the first head of the Design Department in 1954. It is believed that the first Bluebird (the 310 model) was based on his sketch. The Datsun Sedan 112 that he designed won the 1956 Mainichi Design Award in the industrial category, an award that the Mainichi newspaper established in 1955 to improve industrial design in Japan. Sato left Nissan Motor for health reasons in 1959.
Nissan Legend Shozo Sato: Design Illustrates Culture
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