Dekotora (decorated trucks), Japan | Car subcultures

Around the world, communities have used cars in different and creative ways to express their own individual and group identities. Inspired by the 1975 Japanese TV series, ’Torakku Yarō’ (Truck Guys), which featured a trucker who drove his garishly decorated truck all over Japan, dekotora drivers spend huge sums of money customising their ride with extravagant hand-painted murals, neon and ultraviolet lights, and sparkling chrome fixtures. Junichi Tajima, president of Utamarokai, the largest and oldest dekotora association in Japan, takes us on journey revealing the origins of dekotora and how their charity work has helped to dispel their traditional bad-boy reputation. This film was produced as part of Cars: Accelerating the Modern World (23 November 2019 – 19 April 2020) Find out more: