‘Terrible fuel efficiency, no right-hand drive’: why trade deal won’t warm up Japan to American cars

A US car dealer in Fukaya, Japan. America’s vehicular behemoths are ill-suited to Japan’s narrow roads and tight parking spaces Photograph: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump has declared that Japan is opening up its domestic market to US cars as part of the bilateral trade deal announced this week. But American manufacturers will find it no easy task convincing Japanese drivers to choose what they see as oversized, unreliable gas-guzzlers.

Announcing the agreement – which includes 15% tariffs on imports from Japan, including cars – Trump posted: “Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their country to trade including cars and trucks, rice and certain other agricultural products.”