TOYOTA CITY, Japan -

Despite being left speechless by the destruction that the March 11 earthquake caused, Akio Toyoda was amazed during his visit by the commitment to moving on shown by the people of Tohoku, the region receiving the biggest blow from the disaster.

And in the four-plus months that have followed the devastating earthquake in Japan, the president of Toyota Motor Corp. has strived to figure out exactly how the automaker can help the people in doing so.

Toyota revealed a new Tohoku revitalization initiative on Tuesday designed to set the stage for ongoing measures of support, instead of just temporary alleviations. The program is part of the company’s Kokoro Hakobu Project that it rolled out last month.

Basically, the new initiative augments the relief already provided by the project with three key measures: more robust social contributions, more commitment to manufacturing in the region and plans to offer hybrid vehicles as additional power sources.

“Ever since the disaster, I have been thinking about ways for us at Toyota to help the people of Tohoku,” Toyoda said via a video on the automaker’s site. “My conclusion is that we should work through manufacturing together with people in the region to build a bright future for Tohoku.”

Beginning with the social endeavors, the automakers noted that it is giving 100 million yen each to three different educational assistance funds. In the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures — which were hit the hardest — such funds have been created or are in the works.

Toyoda noted that more than 200 children were orphaned after the disaster, with over 1,500 losing one parent.

“The children of Tohoku are the future of the region,” Toyoda stressed. “We at Toyota want to help those children overcome sorrow and uncertainly and eventually play a part building the future of Tohoku.”

Three million yen will also be given to artistic and cultural endeavors helping to foster recovery. The automaker also is expanding its Toyota Master Players series with Tohoku venues. The Toyota Community Concerts will also expand with Tohoku venues, and the automaker is sponsoring other similar events in the area as well.

Moving along to its manufacturing efforts, Toyota announced last week that it would make Tohoku its third Japanese production center and that talks will begin about three of its subsidiaries in the region consolidating.

The semi-autonomous entity would specifically focus on compact vehicles — including a small hybrid — and operate each step of the manufacturing process.

In light of its plans to bolster manufacturing in the region, Toyota is establishing a technical school in Tohoku similar to what it offers in Toyota City.

“We have decided that the Toyota Technical Skills Academy in Toyota City — which follows the thinking that making things means making people — will establish a similar training facility at our operations in Tohoku,” Toyoda said.

Recruitment for the center will begin next July. Classes for the inaugural group of students — Toyota said it will number between 10 and 30 individuals — will kick off in April 2013.

Graduates of technical high schools in the region as well as those who work for Toyota-related companies will receive instruction for a year.

“Graduates of the facility will put their skills to work at manufacturing enterprises in Tohoku to deliver products that will win the hearts of customers worldwide,” Toyoda said. “In that way, a revived Tohoku will lead Japan into the future.”

Also, the Toyota City academy will start recruiting this month for technical high school graduates in the area to work at the new company. They are slated for a year of study that begins in April.

Continuing along, also part of Toyota’s manufacturing commitment are measures to deal with disasters down the road.

“The company will fortify the on-site electrical-generating capacity at its Tohoku operations, helping to cope more smoothly with any future power interruptions and to stabilizing the regional power grid,” the automaker said.

“The initiatives will begin with the installation of an 8-megawatt generating capacity at what is now Central Motor’s Miyagi Plant, or enough to supply about 90 percent of the plant’s electric power demand, when needed,” it added.

Also, Toyota said it is looking into utilizing renewable energies at the Tohoku operations as well as systems to help make electrical supply and demand at industrial complexes more efficient.

Lastly, Toyota explained that customer feedback has helped in its plans to improve the usefulness of vehicles in emergencies. An example is the Estima hybrid minivan.

People were able to draw upon the auxiliary electricity from a system on the vehicle during blackouts, officials noted. As such, Toyota said it will include that system in other hybrids.

The company also intends to integrate this capability into the Prius hybrid in a year’s time or less.

“With a maximum output of 1,500 watts, the power-supply system can be used to run a variety of household appliances. The engine starts up automatically as necessary to recharge the battery, so a vehicle that starts with a full tank can supply electric power at maximum output for about two days,” officials explained.

“To make available an on-hand emergency power-supply source, TMC will provide the system for free to Tohoku prefectures. Based on discussions with the prefectures involved, starting in August, TMC will begin retrofitting the system on approximately 40 units of the current-generation Prius already in service as prefectural vehicles,” they added.

To view the video of Toyoda’s address, visit http://www.toyota-global.com/company/video_news/conference/index.html#Jul-19-2011.

Toyota Clears Up RAV4 Rumor

In other news from the company, Toyota released a statement Tuesday to clear the air about an apparent rumor regarding its 2012 RAV4 electric vehicle.

“Recent reports have incorrectly stated that the 2012 RAV4 EV will only be marketed to fleet and car sharing programs. We’d like to set the record straight,” the automaker said. “The 2012 RAV4 EV will definitely be sold to the general public. We anticipate robust public interest in the RAV4 EV and are keen to inform consumers that their future vehicle options include a battery electric Toyota.”

It added: “Toyota is the only manufacturer bringing two battery electric vehicles to the market in 2012 — the RAV4 EV and the Scion iQ EV. While the RAV4 EV will be available to the public, the Scion iQ EV will be marketed to fleet and car sharing programs only. Multiple reports have been corrected on various automotive blog sites.”