The 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon took place at Makuhari Messe from 13 to 15 January. Hordes of Mazda fans came to the Mazda and MZRacing booths.

The Mazda CX-5, scheduled for launch this spring, played the lead role at the Mazda booth. A talk show by automobile journalists and Mazda R&D staff members focused on discussing the company's new SKYACTIV technology, a feature of the CX-5. In addition, a movie of the demonstration run by the Mazda 787B at the 2011 Le Mans was played repeatedly on the huge screen mounted on the main stage wall. All of the Mazda fans' eyes were riveted on the images playing on the screen.

In the MZRacing booth, a replica of the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours-winning Mazda 787B, a Knight Sports RX-8, and a rally spec. DEMIO (Mazda 2) were on display. The Knight Sports RX-8 was the racecar that was campaigned in the 2011 Macau Grand Prix, and the rally spec. DEMIO participated in the All-Japan Rally Championship with former racequeen Rina Ito, now working as a starlet, behind the wheel. The talk show saw ex-Mazda factory driver Mr. Yojiro Terada, widely known as “Mr. Le Mans” sitting alongside Mr. Takaharu Kobayakawa, an automobile journalist, and Mr. Nobuhiro Yamamoto, a chief engineer on Mazda sports cars. Race reports by the Knight Sports squad and Ms. Rina Ito were held at the booth. The topic of the Le Mans 24 Hours attracted a lot of attention and enthusiasts listened intently. An autograph session was then held after the talk show. It took around 50 minutes to get through all the fans. Rina Ito looked stunning and her photo session proved immensely popular.

Mr. Mitsuo Hitomi, Mazda's Executive Officer, said, “I'm impressed that such a lot of Mazda enthusiasts have gathered here. I felt that the attraction of Le Mans hasn't lost any of its luster.”

Many thanks to all the fans who came to the show. We very much appreciate your visiting our booth.