Daijiro Inada may be the largest celebrity in Japanese automotive culture. Daijiro Inada is most notably the founder of Option Magazine and its video spin-off series, creator of the D1 Grand Prix series, and founder of the Tokyo Auto Salon, which is the largest automotive event in the world. Daijiro Inada is the heart of Japanese automotive culture.

Daijiro Inada was not always at the top of the Japanese automotive market. He got his start as an automotive journalist. “At the very beginning, before I even got into this industry, I was a big fan of automotive racing. For me to foresee a future in motorsports as a racer was hard because it was so costly at the time. I could not become one unless I was a millionaire or financially established so I decided to get involved with a publishing company to deal with racecars and write about racecars,” Inada said. “Back about 25 years ago the tuning industry in Japan started prospering. I could see the tuning industry becoming a good size and mainstream. I quickly organized the origins of Tokyo Auto Salon and about five years from the beginning of the first auto salon I started publishing a magazine.” That publication would become Option Magazine.

Option Magazine, is an automotive magazine that Daijiro Inada founded in 1981 to meet the demand for enthusiasts of modified Japanese cars in Japan. Other magazines in the Option franchise are: Option 2, a similar magazine but with less emphasizes on featured cars and more information on technical articles and do-it-yourself modifications; Option Wagon for modified multi-purpose vehicles or MPVs; Drift Tengoku, a magazine and video series dedicated to drifting and Video Option. Option Magazine also has a D1 Grand Prix mini-magazine that showcases the drifting series.

Daijiro Inada saw how popular drifting had become in Japan and felt like there was enough demand to justify a professional level drifting series. So in 1999, Inada created the D1 Grand Prix. Today, D1 Grand Prix has become the World’s premier drifting competition and has expanded to the United States, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and Malaysia as well as inspired other pro level drifting events like Formula Drift.

Inada’s crowning achievement may be Japan’s Tokyo Auto Salon. During the three day automotive event, 280,000 car enthusiasts will be attracted to the latest in Japanese tuning, parts, cars, and of course car models!

Daijiro Inada is a true role model because he learned how to turn his passion, Japanese cars and racing, into a career. Inada was not privileged enough to start racing at an early age but he was determined to have some role in the automotive industry anyway. Inada started his career as an automotive journalist and has turned his love for cars and racing into an unstoppable automotive dynasty. Daijiro Inada is a drifting icon.