Letter From Japan

LETTER FROM Japan

The book on heros

When you go to the big races, like Daytona and Laguna Seca in the U.S. or the Suzuka races here in Japan, it's always difficult to get close to the racers. Usually, they are secreted away from the fans and seen only when they are riding. The people you want to see the most are out of reach. Certainly, these top-level racers sell tickets, but in Japan, they also sell magazines. So much so that we now have RACING HEROS, a new magazine devoted entirely to the top-level GP racers.

Basically, the main idea behind the fan magazine was that by focusing on and popularizing the colorful riders from all nations, people would feel closer to the riders, and to the sport. Due in part to the magazine’s innovative editorial policy, one side-effect on the Japanese riders is that racers such as Takazumi Katayama, Masaru Kobayashi and Tadahiko Taira have stepped forward from the anonymity of the so-called “team” image of factory riders to become figures of adolation in Japan.

Kobayashi is now featured as a racer on the label of a sports soft drink, while Taira endorses video equipment and men’s facial products to people who most likely have never been to a motorcycle race. Now those people may go just to see the man who is appearing on dozens of television commercials a day.

So far, no one seems to be losing with RACING HEROS. It’s in its sixth issue, in addition to two special editions, and sells

180,000 copies a month at four dollars a copy. Those sales figures indicate that the readers are pleased with the concept and content of the magazine. About the only problem for Editor Koji Hiroe is that there’s just too much material and too many riders for his small staff to cover.

Honda Italia Industriale

Starting this summer, Honda will begin importing and selling in Japan motorcycles made in Italy by its subsidiary company. The first model Honda will import to Japan will be the Italiandesigned NS 125 sportbike. A Honda spokesman said that the increased value of the yen has made it profitable to import Honda motorcycles built abroad into Japan.

Honda’s Italian concern in Rome is currently manufacturing six 125cc models and one 200cc machine, at a rate of 20,000 units per year. Honda’s goal is to use 100-percent Italian components on the bikes, which come in colors and designs claimed to be more bright and lively than those used on domestic models. No one expects these Italian Hondas to generate large sales numbers in Japan, but Honda is hoping they’ll help stimulate the Japanese market.

Honda is now manufacturing motorcycles in 28 countries, including Italy, Belgium and the U.S., and the company appears likely to be the first manufacturer to import motorcycles it has built overseas and market them in Japan. Industry sources regard Honda’s move as an indication of a trend for all the Japanese manufacturers.

Kengo Yagawa