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Successive generations of outboard motors displayed in the Communication Plaza at Yamaha Motor headquarters (at the front is our first product, the P-7)

A Junior Yacht School program (Japan) was first held in 1979, and continues today

In 1960, five years after launching Yamaha Motor's first product, the motorcycle, we released our RUN-13 and CAT-21 motorboats built using FRP, a new material that was in the spotlight at the time. Just two months after that, we released our P-7 outboard motor employing the small engine technologies of our motorcycles. This was the start of the Yamaha Motor group's marine business, and in 2010, the history of this business surpassed half a century.
Currently, there are more than 180 countries and regions worldwide where Yamaha Motor's marine products are providing great service, either as a means of transportation essential for the everyday movement of people and for such occupations as fishing and the transport of goods, or as the means to enjoy a variety of marine leisure activities. In these ways they help societies develop and bring people new enjoyment in their lives.
Together with the rapid growth of the Japanese economy and the overseas expansion of business, the Yamaha Motor group's marine business spread to product categories such as leisure boats, fishing boats and personal watercraft (PWCs). However, the most distinctive feature of Yamaha's marine business is that we have simultaneously made efforts for promotional activities, including holding water skiing classes, boat license classes and sailing schools, improving safety awareness and boating etiquette, developing a recreational environment, including marinas, and taking on the challenges of international boat and yachting races. Moreover, the inspiration for all of these business activities has been the ambition to "offer people a more fulfilling life"-an aspiration which has been handed down since Yamaha Motor's foundation and which continues to prevail in our current Corporate Mission.

Maintenance and other service activities conducted by sales/service/technical staff touring fishing villages where outboard motors are in use (photo taken in Sri Lanka in 1972)

"Fishery Journal" (left) was first published in English in 1977 and was also translated into other languages; having been endorsed by the fishing industry in developing countries, the journals have been archived by international organizations, national universities and even by the British Library

In March 2010, cumulative production of Yamaha outboard motors surpassed nine million. Our product lineup now accommodates a diverse range of applications and local conditions, from models that are focused on durability and ease of maintenance for use in emerging countries and harsh conditions, to high-power models that are fuel efficient and eco-friendly, which are used for leisure primarily in developed markets. The lineup even extends to electric models used for coastal fishing and other activities in Japan.
In terms of wholesales in 2010, we accounted for about 40% of total worldwide demand (survey by Yamaha Motor). We believe that such broad-based popularity of the Yamaha brand is due to efforts to understand the different lifestyles of each region, the mindset of their people, their culture and customs and the environment in which our products are actually used. By visiting each relevant local area, Yamaha Motor people have always strived to perfect engineering and manufacturing, after-sales service and parts supply systems based on an accumulation of market-specific knowledge in every region of the world.
An example of how this community-oriented approach in the Yamaha Motor group's marine business contributes to local society is our support for coastal fishing industries in emerging countries. For communities where the traditional fishing industry has been based on wooden vessels and human power, Yamaha Motor proposes the use of FRP fishing boats and power sources such as outboard motors. For more than half a century, we have been engaged in activities that go beyond the boundaries of the manufacturing industry and contribute to the promotion of local industry. As part of these activities we have published a journal on fishery that introduces a variety of Japanese fishing know-how using illustrations and photographs to show safe and efficient ways of catching fish, preserving freshness of catches onboard, processing for distribution, in-store marketing and even how to prepare seafood dishes.

At our Fukuroi South Factory where outboard motors are produced, efforts are being made to boost quality by adopting the latest production technologies and to reduce our environmental impact through means such as using natural lighting and a water recycling system

Yamaha Motor's membership exclusive marine activity/rental club "Sea-Style" is designed to bring the joy of marine recreation to more people; there are more than 14,000 members (as of 2010)

Even in the marine products sector of outboard motors and other marine engines, we are responsible for playing an important role in realizing a sustainable society by lowering the impact on the environment. The most recent example of efforts by the Yamaha Motor group is the development of next-generation environmentally friendly engines (outboard motors), with our corporate goal of improving fuel efficiency by 30% by 2015 compared with our 2007 models. Yamaha Motor's core technology in both small engine technology and the processing and manufacturing of fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP), we have been striving to introduce designs and manufacturing technologies which reduce the impact on the environment.
Although efforts made from a global environmental perspective, such as sustainable use of resources and energy and reductions in environmental impact, are essential for a sustainable society, the Yamaha Motor group also believes that it is our corporate social responsibility to make efforts to offer a more fulfilling life for people in communities everywhere by providing products and services of increasing quality that help to improve the social environment and develop local economies.