https://www.forbes.com/sites/bertels...ders-to-japan/
Shortly after the non-announcement, Ford spokesman Neal McCarthy told the Associated Press that “Japan is the most closed, developed auto economy in the world, with all imported brands accounting for less than 6% of Japan's annual new car market.” The first part of McCarthy’s line is lifted straight from the American Automotive Policy Council, the lobbying arm of Detroit’s automakers, and it lacks any proof. The second part seems to be purloined from the seminal oeuvre titled “How to lie with statistics.”
What Ford also does not want you to know is that the company has left Japan’s import market to its European competitors. More than 80% of the more than 300,000 foreign cars brought to Japan last year carried European marques; the American share was a minuscule 4%. Home to more than 10 domestic manufacturers, Japan is a highly competitive market, but sometimes one can't help but get the impression that Ford and its Detroit peers aren’t even trying to compete. Ford’s imported cars often have the steering wheel on the wrong side. Since 2008, Detroit’s automakers have boycotted Japanese auto shows. The boycott was only broken when Chrysler went to Fiat, and subsequently made an appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show. A little trying goes a long way: FCA’s Jeep brand is quite popular in Japan, selling more than Ford and GM combined.
Because they couldn't compete.
I spent three weeks in Japan last year visiting my grandkids and took hundreds of photos. I saw tons of BMWs, Jeeps, Range Rovers, etc.