INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS ISSUES RELATED TO PEOPLE: UPLIFTING THE MIND AND BODY

The preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) explains that “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Here, health is expressed with the word “well-being.” Gallup, Inc. of the United States has conducted an emotional health survey in more than 140 countries and regions. In this survey, respondents’ emotional experiences serve as one of its key measurement indicators. The survey results revealed that during the period between 2006 and 2022, Positive Experience Index scores (feeling well-rested, feeling treated with respect, laughing and smiling, enjoyment, and learning or doing something interesting) stayed about the same, whereas Negative Experience Index scores (physical pain, worry, sadness, stress, and anger) have shown an adverse trend since 2015. Presumably, increasing the opportunities for positive experiences will lead to improvement in people’s emotional health in the future. Meanwhile, the industrial world—the information technology industry in particular—has begun to see some companies incorporating the perspective of well-being, which encompasses not only physical health but also mental and social health, into the process of product and technology development. 

The above graphs were created by Mazda with permission from Gallup, Inc., based on the graphs in the 2023 Gallup Global Emotions Report.

2023 Gallup Global Emotions Report by Gallup, Inc. (External link)

Mazda predicts that, around 2030, while people will benefit from the economic affluence achieved by mechanization and automation, they will be less associated with society due to weakening real-world human connections, with reduced opportunities to live spiritually rich lives, realize a society where all people harmoniously coexist, and feel the pleasure of ownership. Furthermore, people may be subject to high stress caused by the vulnerability of the social systems, which will have been optimized to seek higher efficiency. Given these circumstances, the value of vehicles is expected to become more diversified, so people will select vehicles according to their purpose, e.g., for driving supported by vehicle-infrastructure cooperative systems, for enjoying driving, or for feeling the joy of ownership. The Company aims to deliver an uplifting experience, emotionally & physically, through vehicles that provide the joy of driving.