Under such stringent regulations, and given that, evidenced from the International Automobile Federation’s reports, a car in Japan travels almost half as much annually as a corresponding car in the US, it is unsurprising that over 800,000 used commercial vehicles were exported from Japan in 2013-according to the Japan Customs and Tariff Bureau.
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With high maintenance rates, relatively short shelf lives and high disposal fees on vehicles, Japanese drivers have an increased incentive to sell their cars for export as they get older instead of demolishing them domestically. This need, however, becomes increasingly expensive as a car ages and has a year-on-year depreciative effect that ultimately leads to its destruction or exportation.
The devotion to and passion for cars, in what has come to be known as Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) culture, has slowly been brought to wider recognition through mainstream films like ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,’ and in video games such as ‘Need for Speed’ and ‘Gran Turismo.’ The investment and mind-set of the JDM culture has very likely already spilled over into the western world, beyond the effects that it has had on European and American vehicles.īecause Japan has rigorous annual inspection standards for the maintenance of road vehicles, the need for Japanese drivers to maintain and preserve their cars in order for them to be allowed on public roads is a large one.
With the historical discipline and dedication of the early Japanese samurai still living on through modern-day Japanese martial arts, it should come as no surprise that the Japanese have seamlessly applied their philosophy of honor, duty and loyalty to their domestic market of vehicles.