Bridgestone was founded in Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan in 1931. In response to the motorization trend in Japan, Bridgestone constructed its Tokyo Plant production base in Kodaira, Tokyo. Our founder, Shojiro Ishibashi, designed the basic layout of the Tokyo Plant. His concept was to create an environment where the families of employees could live at ease and they could work with peace of mind. Accordingly, his plan incorporated extensive welfare facilities.

Bridgestone completed its Technical Center in Kodaira, Tokyo in April 1962. This facility initially had a research staff of approximately 350 people and was equipped with the latest equipment at the time.

Bridgestone constructed a skid pad, a circular test facility to evaluate the slip resistance of tires as vehicles took curves on wet conditions, at the Tokyo Plant.

As the company outgrew its Technical Center built in 1962 due to a rapid increase in the number of staff, Bridgestone relocated the adjacent second Company dormitory building and erected a new annex for the Technical Center at its former site.

The POTENZA RE47 tire launched in 1979 was developed at the Kodaira Technical Center. POTENZA remains a mainstay Bridgestone brand for sports tires today.

Bridgestone began participating in Formula 1_® in 1997 with the aim of enhancing the company's brand awareness in the European market. In 1998, the following year, a team using Bridgestone tires developed at the Kodaira Technical Center won the series champion.

The current Technical Center was built in 2000 to serve as a new research and development facility. Today, it is functioning as the nerve center for the Bridgestone Group’s research and development activities.

As part of our celebration of the 70th anniversary of Bridgestone’s founding, we opened the BRIDGESTONE TODAY rubber and tire corporate museum in 2001. A total of 250,000 people have visited the museum so far.

The corporate museum was renovated and reopened as Bridgestone Innovation Gallery. This museum explores our history, DNA, and current and future activities.