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Founder

“You don’t measure a man’s greatness by his physical size, but by his acts, by the impact he makes on human history.”

-Soichiro Honda

Founder, Honda Motor Co.

“We have consistently chosen a most difficult path filled with hardships. We must possess the will to challenge difficulties and the wisdom to create new values without being bound by established standards. We do not wish to imitate others.”

-Soichiro Honda

Founder, Honda Motor Co.

“There is a Japanese proverb that literally goes ’Raise the sail with your stronger hand’, meaning you must go after the opportunities that arise in life that you are best equipped to do.”

-Soichiro Honda

Founder, Honda Motor Co.

Soichiro Honda (1906-1991), the founder of Honda Motor Company is a man who transformed the world with the best technological advancements under the most pressing constraints.

Soichiro Honda

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Born in Hamamatsu, in the Shizuoka prefecture of Japan, in 1906, Soichiro Honda’s father owned a blacksmith's shop and repaired bicycles as a side-line. Soichiro Honda left elementary school in April 1922 at the age of fifteen and joined Art Shokai as an apprentice in Tokyo. Here, Mr. Honda worked hard to extend and deepen his understanding of automobile engineering and amazed everyone by the extent of his expertise. One day in September 1946, Soichiro Honda came across a generator engine designed for a wireless radio from the former Imperial Army. When Mr. Honda saw it, he was immediately inspired with an idea. It was a moment of destiny. Moving forward with grit and relentless determination, Soichiro Honda established Honda Motor Co. Ltd, on September 24, 1948, in Itaya-cho, Hamamatsu.

From developing a race engine and establishing Honda car’s racing laboratories, bringing the Honda team to the Isle of Man Races, to eventually launching Honda car’s first mini passenger automobile - the N360, the first of several iconic Honda models. Soichiro Honda began to share his dream of mobility and once the wheels were set in motion, there was no stopping them. When the tide was high, Mr. Soichiro Honda embarked on a number of his own projects, displaying exceptional expertise in technical innovation. The products engineered by Honda were an instant hit in Japan and eventually in global markets. He even hand-b… READ MORE