It has been nearly a decade since Ford Motor Co. has sold its vehicles in Japan and for good reason — the automaker has had no chance at profitability in a country that preferred its own small domestic vehicles to the big, flashy American-made cars.
In fact, since World War II, American car companies have struggled to get a significant foothold in Japan, which hasn’t put tariffs on imported vehicles since the late 1970s. General Motors vehicle sales in Japan made up less than 1% of the nation's total car sales last year, according to the New York Times.
So it stands to reason why the world is suddenly abuzz over the news that Japan's government may want to buy a fleet of Ford F-150 pickups. The move follows Japan's pledge earlier this year to open its markets to more American cars, a nod to President Donald Trump, who has pushed that agenda for years.
Now in his second term, Trump is imposing steep tariffs on imported cars and car parts. Tariffs are taxes paid by an importer when a good crosses a border. Trump has also pressured countries into removing trade barriers that range from taxes on American beef and soybeans to car safety and local content requirements in Japan and Indonesia, according to the New York Times.
So the fact that Japan is eyeing the most iconic of American vehicles, the F-150 — made at Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant and Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri — shows what is at stake: Ford's bestselling vehicle may be the olive branch that achieves an economic and diplomatic synchronicity between the United States and Japan.
Or at least, the gesture will make Trump happy, even if it may not be enough to reset the trade imbalance between the two nations, experts said.
"The move will have more symbolic impact than financial impact. It makes for a good press moment for smiling politicians, but F-150 sales won't move the balance of trade or Ford's earnings," Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, told the Detroit Free Press. "Ford won't win many sales, but will win bragging rights if the F-150 is selected by the Japanese government."
'Thank you, Mr. President'
The news first became global when a reporter informed Trump that Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was reportedly considering the purchase of a fleet of F-150 trucks. Trump was asked for his reaction as he boarded Air Force One on Saturday, Oct. 25.
A reported fan of the F-150, Trump jumped at the idea, replying, "That's good. They're great trucks. She has good taste. That's a hot truck."
Soon after, Ford CEO Jim Farley took to social media posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, the video of Trump's comments with the message, "Thank you, Mr. President. We agree."
Farley went on to write in his post: "We're proud to make all of our F-Series pickup trucks here in America and thankful to our customers for making the F-Series lineup America's best-selling truck for 48 years and America’s best-selling vehicle of any kind in the U.S. since 1981. The F-Series is the second top-selling consumer product in the U.S., second only to the Apple iPhone."
For proof that the offer could be serious, look to the courtyard of the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, where Trump and Takaichi had their first meeting on Oct. 28.
Takaichi, who wants to improve economic ties with the United States and build a friendship with Trump, placed an enormous Ford F-150 truck alongside U.S.-made Japanese vehicles in the courtyard. Ford pulled out of Japan in 2016.
A Ford F-150 and a Toyota pickup truck are parked outside of Akasaka Palace, where President Donald Trump held meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the morning, in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 28, 2025.
When asked by the Detroit Free Press on Oct. 28 whether Ford had received an order yet from Japan for the pickups and how the Dearborn-based automaker felt about the sudden thrust on to a global stage, Ford spokesman Dave Tovar said only, "We appreciate President Trump’s advocating for American-made products. We would be excited to introduce America’s bestselling truck to work and government customers in Japan."
Chevrolet and Japanese gangsters
Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, took office last week and appears to understand the importance of a congenial relationship with Trump.
Japan’s previous administration had agreed last month to invest $550 billion in the United States, a move that prompted Trump to scale down a threatened 25% tariff on all Japanese goods to 15%. But Japan wants its investments to favor Japanese vendors and contractors.
Ford F-150s at the Ford Motor Co. Dearborn Truck Plant in Dearborn on Friday, July 18, 2025.
Still, Japanese officials are reported to be considering buying more American soybeans, liquefied natural gas and autos, according to AP reports. The Japanese government is considering importing the Ford trucks for use by its transport ministry to inspect roads and infrastructure, "though there are concerns that the F-150 could cause congestion on narrow Japanese streets," AP reported.
Japan is an island nation that is smaller than California with limited parking. Its cities have narrow and twisting streets. The vehicles all have steering on the right side, too, the opposite of the United States.
Many car buyers in Japan prefer compact cars or, for those who can afford more expensive foreign cars, they buy the medium-size vehicles from Europe. AP reported that besides American-produced Japanese cars, the top-selling American brand there is Jeep made by Stellantis.
The idea of Ford's giant cowboy pickups driving through the narrow, crowded streets of Tokyo is mindboggling to most industry experts, which is why they see such a purchase as merely a gesture, albeit a powerful one.
Trump has complained for years that American vehicles were being shut out of Japan, the home of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Isuzu, Mitsubishi and Subaru brands. In a September interview on CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Japan wouldn’t buy U.S.-branded vehicles because “Chevys” were popular with Japanese gangsters.
Resetting the trade imbalance
Marick Masters, a Wayne State University business professor, told the Detroit Free Press that the Japanese government's willingness to buy a nominal number of Ford F-series trucks "symbolizes the country's commitment to moving U.S.-Japanese trade relations toward Trump's goal of a Golden Age for U.S. manufacturing."
But, he added, "Substantively, it will not address the massive trade imbalance between the U.S. and Japan in the auto industry."
Marick cited data that showed that last year, Japan imported less than $853 million in U.S.-manufactured vehicles while it exported nearly $50 billion to the United States. He also noted that the U.S.-Japanese trade accord calls for 15% tariff on Japanese imports, which is higher than it was pre-Trump, but lower than the 25% tariff on the rest of the auto industry.
"The overall package of economic investment announced as part of this trade framework is $550 billion, but the devil is in the detail of implementing the particulars," Masters said. "In this situation, it is important to acknowledge symbolic gestures but pay keen attention to the actual results. The critical test is whether the trade imbalance is reset, and that will take a lot more than a few small gestures of goodwill."
Just keep Trump happy
Morningstar autos analyst David Whiston said even if Japan were to seriously start importing Ford pickups, "there’s less than 1% probability that Japanese consumers in high volume will buy" them.
"Pickups Americans drive are far too big and flashy for tastes over there and fuel economy would be an issue," Whiston said. "In my opinion, the realistic opportunity would be to convince governments and fleets to use them for construction jobs. The challenge there would be if Toyota wanted to start doing the same thing with Tundra and I’m guessing they already do with Hilux."
The Hilux is a midsize pickup, similar to the Tacoma, that Toyota sells in its other global markets, but not the United States.
To Whiston's point, Japanese news media have reported that Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda could announce during a dinner with Trump and business leaders on Wednesday that Toyota has plans to import its American-made cars back to Japan.
That leaves Whiston to conclude, "I’d expect the Japanese to support buying U.S. vehicles no more than they need to keep Trump happy."
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for Gannett who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How the F-150 could hold the key to diplomatic alliance, trade imbalance with Japan