Japan eliminated import tariffs on all cars in 1978.
Then in 2002 it proposed to the WTO that all developed industrialized countries drop all tariffs on passenger cars, trucks and auto parts (on which it has no tariffs), but the European Union rejected the proposal. (At the time the EU had tariffs of "around 10 percent on passenger vehicles, 22 percent on trucks and five percent on parts", according to this article.)
So tell me, what "cultural requirement" was the EU fulfilling by maintaining these tariffs despite the fact that Japan having none? Was this an anticipation of the "cooperative protectionism" recently advocated for Europe by Emmanuel Todd?
And to repeat my question to Jerome above, how is Japan being protectionist in the automobile market? (It may very well be, but I would like to understand exactly how, as there seems such an assure consensus on this claim.) Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
I've heard from various people that trying to sell foreign products in Japan can be unusually interesting. Regulations can make it very difficult to open stores, never mind local factories, and there's a certain background level of xenophobia and exceptionalism which means that Japanese buyers only take foreign products seriously if their brand is seen as having high status.
Just because it's an open market in theory doesn't mean that it's open in practice.
On the opposite side, imports are comparatively exceedingly high (than say, if the yen were at 2 to the dollar), which fits their market just fine. Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
