The Cars of Japan Are Changing, But Some Aren't Ready

"For Sweden" (rallybeetle) 03/13/2015 at 12:30 • Filed to: Satire, Japan

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Change happens slowly in Japan, but it does happen. You wake up one day, and things that weren't possible years ago are happening today. Nowhere is that more evident than in the automobiles which will represent Japan in foreign markets—but that's to the chagrin of some who wanted a more "Japanese" car.

The Nissan Titan is the twelve-year-old nameplate selected to represent Japan in the North American pickup truck landscape. Some have expressed uneasiness over the new model, with an unmistakably not-Japanese Cummins diesel engine. They wonder whether or not it would be okay for a hafu [half-Japanese] pickup like it to represent Japan.

When introducing itself to reporters after her selection, the Titans said that her mother is Japanese and her father is American. It added that she was born and raised in Canton, Mississippi and that while it doesn't "look Japanese" on the outside, on the inside, there are many Japanese things about it.

Let's be clear. It is Japanese. Nissan is a Japanese brand. It was greenlit in Japan. It's Japanese. Yet, out of politeness or even humility, it explained itself to the Japanese press. After this was out of the way, the rest of her interview progressed fairly normally with questions about how it felt when its new engine was announced or if she's thinking of entering the Japanese domestic industry.

Her selection has caused controversy online in Japan. Website JDM Yo and JDM Bro have a good round-up of comments that appeared on Twitter. Comments like, "Is it okay to select a hafu to represent Japan?" or "Because this is a Nissan, don't you think hafu are a no-no?" When not wondering if this was "okay," others said things like it didn't look Japanese, its face was "too gaijin" or that the country deserved a "pure-blooded Japanese" ( or "junnihon") workhorse instead. Elsewhere online, one commenter wrote, "It makes me uncomfortable to say it's representing Japan."

Because the vast, vast majority of Japan is filled with Japanese vehicles from homogeneous backgrounds, you get comments like this from people who have no idea what it is like to be different or not to be part of an overwhelming majority. There's a lack of empathy, and unfortunately, that can reflect poorly on Japanese society.

Consider that mixed production between Japanese and European and American brands have been happening since the 20th century and that by the 1990s century, a third of all Mazdas in Japan claimed Ford ancestors. This intermingling has happened throughout Japan's history, so the term "pure-blooded Japanese" can seem ambiguous at best. However, while the number of hafu are increasing, the number of mixed productions is still low. In 2012, for example, BMW and Toyota agreed to make a car together, but no one has heard from it since.

On The Truth About Cars, a popular site that allows readers to vote on comments, many of the highest-rated comments said that they wanted a more "Japanese" vehicle to represent Japan—with the explicit implication that half-Japanese vehicles do not reflect the country. However, not everyone thinks that way. This is extremely important to point out. There were comments supporting its engine selection, with people saying that the only thing that matters is whether or not it's a citizen and loves this country or whether or not she was born and raised in Japan. Others said criticizing the selection because it wasn't "Japanese" enough was "pathetic" and outdated thinking.

The notion of being Japanese has traditionally been narrow. There is no denying that. But kei cars that are built here, hooned here, and rev Japanese as their native language act and think, well, Japanese. The same goes for any car built in any country. Your environment breeds culture. Your culture is how you define your identity. Your identity is what makes you who you are.

You know, you see movies like The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift , and you think the country is changing, and then, you see stuff like this. One commenter on website StanceWorks put it best: "Even if you are hafu, if you have Japanese citizenship, then you're Japanese." If only more people felt that way. Many do. Over time, maybe more will.

I wish Titan-san the best as it represents its country to the world, even if its country doesn't always do the best job of representing itself.

[Photo: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ]

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > For Sweden 03/13/2015 at 12:36

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The Titan is a Japanese truck MADE for the US though right? See nothing wrong there, A Kei Truck just would not fit in the US I'd say :) US = huuuuuge.. Japan = Smaaaaall :)

I do think the Titan is a good looking car though.

For Sweden > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 03/13/2015 at 12:38

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Some think that's worse, that because the Titan represents Japan in foreign markets, it should be pure-Japanese.

Party-vi > For Sweden 03/13/2015 at 12:44

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Just fantastic work here.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > For Sweden 03/13/2015 at 12:47

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So we've got the whole hachiroku and gaijin thing going on I guess.. I say fuck that, a car is a car, you might love it you might hate it.. but it's a car.

A pure Japanese car would never sell in the US, probably not in the EU either.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > For Sweden 03/13/2015 at 12:50

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But one of the most popular Japanese shows is called Attack On Titan

For Sweden > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 03/13/2015 at 12:51

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If they're attacking Titans, then the anti- hafu crowd is larger than I thought.

Margin Of Error > For Sweden 03/13/2015 at 14:18

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I don't see why one would buy a Full-Size Japanese pickup.

For Sweden > Margin Of Error 03/13/2015 at 14:19

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Are they not Japanese enough for you?

Margin Of Error > For Sweden 03/13/2015 at 14:21

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Not enough American

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Margin Of Error 03/13/2015 at 16:36

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My friends dad bought one used from someone in their family. The older one (also kinda current) was okay. The rear seats were comfortable and it felt like it has good acceleration. It's not as good as the comparable American brand truck though.

Yeah Nah It's Rowan > For Sweden 03/13/2015 at 16:40

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It's no halfu. It's a spy! Disguised as an overweight American who has no idea what the concept of 1-tonne truck means, because it doesn't speak metric system (it does really but it's a spy so it wont tell). It's mission is take control of the "i like to pretend i'm rugged, so i'm going to buy a truck" market, and convince them all to east sushi - this is already working in California. Next stop, whale! Then the universe!

greasemonkey235097 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 03/13/2015 at 23:27

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Perfect example:

Nissan Cube sales in the US

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > greasemonkey235097 03/14/2015 at 14:50

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So the cube didn't sell that well in the states I gather?

greasemonkey235097 > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh 03/14/2015 at 21:16

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As far as i have read, there will not be a next generation Cube in the US market.

SonorousSpeedJoe > For Sweden 03/17/2015 at 18:07

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the 1990s century