The Toyota Highlander SUV will be available in Japan. (Toyota)
December 19, 2025 8:56 AM, EST
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Toyota Motor Corp. is going to ship three models produced in America to Japan next year, the Japanese auto giant’s latest gesture designed to indulge President Donald Trump.
The Camry sedan, Highlander sport utility vehicle and Tundra pickup truck will go on sale in Japan from 2026, Toyota said Dec. 19 in a statement. The vehicles are produced in Kentucky, Indiana and Texas, respectively.
“Toyota will be able to meet the diverse needs of a broad range of customers, while also helping to improve Japan–U.S. trade relations,” the company said.
As the nation’s biggest carmaker, Toyota is building on its charm offensive to try to get Trump to ease the steep tariffs he imposed on Japanese cars and related parts shipped to the U.S. In November, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda donned a red MAGA hat and wore a T-shirt bearing the faces of Trump and Vice President JD Vance as he hosted a NASCAR promotional event in Japan.
Toyoda first suggested to then-Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in May that American automakers could sell cars in Japan by using Toyota’s domestic sales network. The U.S.-Japan trade deal would end up including a demand for Japan to “open their country” to cars imported from the U.S.
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Other Japanese carmakers are probably going to follow Toyota’s lead, but even if they do, the market for such cars will likely be “extremely limited,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior auto analyst Tatsuo Yoshida said.
“All three models under discussion are large by Japanese standards, and left-hand drive remains a major psychological and practical barrier for most consumers,” he said. “Producing right-hand-drive versions in the U.S. for the Japanese market could unlock some demand, but even then vehicle-size constraints would cap volumes.”
More recently, Trump said he’s paving the way for Asia’s lightweight “Kei” cars to be made and sold in the US, despite concerns they’re too small and slow to be driven safely on American roads.
Big vehicles aren’t top sellers in Japan as roads and parking spots are notoriously narrow in the country, which is one reason why cars tend to be smaller there than in America.
A Toyota official said in October that it’s working with the government to look into how safety regulations could be loosened to facilitate imports. National broadcaster NHK reported on Dec. 19 that the government is moving forward with those plans.
AloJapan.com