Why did Makoto Tamada on a Honda winning the 2004 Japan MotoGP race at Motegi, a track owned by Honda, not make headline news in Japan? The "Three No" Campaign as described in Yamaha's 2010 fact book: "In an effort to prevent motorcycle accidents and deter reckless motorcycle riding among high school youth, in the 1970s some high schools began promoting a "Three No" campaign with the slogans, "No motorcycle license," "No motorcycle riding," and "No motorcycle buying." The All-Japan High School Parent-Teacher Association Federation supported the movement and spread it nationwide. However, to many people, the "no, no, no" message embodied an overly regimented education system. Backlash against the approach, combined with the government's introduction of a new safety education curriculum, slowed the campaign in the late 1990s." So this campaign ran for 20 years. It's intention was to reduce teen fatalities but also to limit the anti-social behavior of street gangs named Bōsōzoku. Despite Japan being the single most important nation in terms of motorcycle innovation and design, large displacement motorcycle use is still considered an anti-social activity. This has serious connotations for the demographic of future users, but also says something about the ability of domestic brands to lobby on their own behalf. |