If only any of those Japanese manufacturers were actually committed to make a really good EV. Seriously the Prius was so ahead of time, that you would think that Toyota would have been among the leaders in the EV sector, instead they kind of overslept the whole EV revolution and now complain about it.
I still think hydrogen cells are a better long-term solution than BEVs. It's way ahead of it's time considering tbe infrastructure requirements, but I assume at some point after everyone is using BEVs and realizing the comparative downsides it'll see a revival.
If only their country wouldn't be so eager to enter in selfdestructive accords with its suzerain, right now half of cars on entire planet could be produced in Japan. Or maybe half of Japan would be bombed to rubble because that's how this surerain is when someone weaker don't obey.
I don't think that foreign power told them to focus on Hydrogen. Japan is still searching for an economic wunderwaffe. Like in the 90s when they tried to leapfrog the west on software by focusing their entire computer industry on Prolog.