The Bridgestone Innovation Park will be a global centre of research, development and wellness to help the company accelerate its transformation into a global leader in advanced mobility and sustainable solutions for a world in motion.

The multi-year project involves a major reconstruction to the company's existing operations in Japanese city Kodaira, and will include four new facilities set to open over the next four years.

"The world is rapidly evolving and Bridgestone must be ready to meet the needs of the next generation with advanced and sustainable solutions for mobility and beyond," Masaaki Tsuya, chairman of the Board, chief executive and representative executive officer at Bridgestone Corporation, said.

"Bridgestone Innovation Park will be the cornerstone of our company's next chapter as we focus on innovation that contributes to society's advancement and creates new value for our customers, our partners, and the world around us."

It is claimed the Innovation Park will be designed to "foster the flexibility and creativity needed to support a more inclusive and connected society over the next 50 years", while operating with the same core values and philosophy that are said to have made Bridgestone successful for the past 90 years.

In the 1960s, Bridgestone founder Shōjirō Ishibashi built the company's former Tokyo plant and technology centre in Kodaira to create an inclusive, active and healthy local community that valued the surrounding environment.

His efforts to promote mobility, people, and the environment are still celebrated today through Bridgestone's "Our Way to Serve" global corporate social responsibility commitment, which helps guide the company to improve the way people move, live, work and play within its long-standing mission of "Serving Society with Superior Quality".

It is claimed the next generation of Bridgestone's Kodaira footprint will bring these values to life through four primary facilities, which together comprise Bridgestone Innovation Park.

The first facility, the "Bridgestone Innovation Gallery", is due to open in June 2020.

That will be a museum dedicated to Bridgestone history and innovation initiatives, designed to engage customers, partners and the local community.

In November 2021, "B-Innovation" and "B-Mobility" are scheduled to open.

B-Innovation will be a next-generation innovation and collaboration laboratory, empowering joint creation with various internal and external stakeholders, while B-Mobility will be a demonstration and testing facility to promote agile product development and will include several courses and data analysis capabilities.

The fourth and final facility, the Bridgestone AHL Arena, is set to open in March 2022.

That will be a barrier-free activity centre providing access to sports for people of all ages and abilities, designed to promote a more diverse and inclusive society in alignment with Bridgestone's Active Healthy Lifestyle (AHL) values and its worldwide Olympic and Paralympic partnerships.

The development of Bridgestone Innovation Park is one of several significant milestones in the coming year that are said to signify the company's transformation.