Last month, Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe became one of the first people to experience Toyota's upcoming fuel cell sedan when he drove the vehicle at a hydrogen station in Kitakyushu, Japan.
Giving his thoughts on the sedan, prime minister Abe noted that acceleration was particularly impressive, and commented that fuel cell vehicles are "very friendly to the environment". He also expressed the government's support for the development of hydrogen infrastructure in Japan.
In end-July Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, drove the fuel cell vehicle when he visited Toyota's headquarters in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. He also praised the car, calling it an "outstanding vehicle".
The car will be launched in Japan before April 2015, and preparations are underway for launches in the US and European markets in the summer of 2015.
Photograph: Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan (left) and Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota chairman (right) with Toyota's fuel cell sedan.