Issues with home charging comes to mind, but I suspect it might have to do with gas station experience in Japan not being so miserable.
Phrases that are equivalent to "full tank every morning with no need for drives to gas pumps" basically don't appear on Japanese Internet. I just googled a bit for Model 3 user reviews in Japanese, and most mentioned items seem to be futuristic experience, various minor QoL and reliability issues like sensors and actuator issues, and disappointing chassis dynamics such as torsional rigidity and suspension designs. Few mention home charging and none as a positive. Fewer mention the CEO as a factor, whose eccentricity is still not widely reported in Japan - Trump/Musk derangement is not fun to watch and media tend to sanewash or simply skip over those.
Though, I think Tesla is also not doing that bad in Japan? I see pre-Highlander M3 and occasional MY Juniper on the road, about as often as Porsche(all models). It's slightly more common than Nissan Sakura, and definitely more common than Ferrari and BYD cars(all models).
> I suspect it might have to do with gas station experience in Japan not being so miserable
Maybe it's different in other parts of the country or maybe the fact that EVs are so expensive their owners have different price sensitivity but one of the main reasons I would want an EV here in Japan is the miserable gas station experience.
In my city, half the gas stations have rip-off prices, 10-20 yen/liter higher than the cheapest stations. Often they just show a blinking "888" as a price so you can't even tell before pulling up to the stall. I pay for a map app that shows gas station prices (and which parking lots are free). Sometimes they'll have decent prices if you get a cash prepaid card or some kind of membership. The cheapest stations are either a 10 minute detour or I have to stand in line for 10 minutes (the cheapest in town is so popular cars line up across an intersection, incredibly dangerous).
On the highway the prices are even worse, since you're a captive audience (all highways are tolled and getting off and on the highway will ding you since prices are based on segments)
First, I'll point out that EV sales in Japan have doubled in the first half of 2026 due to increased government subsidies which took effect in January. [1] This has greatly reduced the cost difference between EVs and gasoline cars, which I think was a major reason people weren't buying EVs. Things may be changing.
Toyota has also finally started to make compelling EVs with the bZ4X and bz4X Touring, which could help drive sales. There has definitely been a lack of good options among Japanese manufacturers.
But charging infrastructure still sucks, at least where I live.
Electricity is also quite expensive. I did the math on my PHEV - and even if I only charge overnight when electricity rates are lowest, I don't save very much over using gasoline.
Kei cars are really popular (about 38% of car sales) [4], and get about 21 km/l (50mpg). Gasoline is subsidized by the government and costs ¥170 per liter ($4 per gallon). The price to fill a 27 liter tank is ¥4,650 ($29). Kei cars are all around pretty affordable, and there isn't much to save in the way of operating costs by driving an EV.
Minivans are also really popular with families. If I look at a list of best-selling car models (excluding kei cars), 5 of the top 10 are Minivans. [3] The only EV minivan currently on sale in Japan is the Volkswagen ID Buzz, which starts at around ¥9M ($55k), and is out of reach of most Japanese families.
Another factor at least where I live is that 4WD models are pretty popular due to snow and mountains (it's a hard requirement for me). 4WD is available on most gasoline cars sold in Japan, and is a pretty inexpensive option. On EVs getting a car with 4WD requires stepping up to an expensive "performance" trim, if it's available at all. On EV kei cars like the Nissan Sakura or the Honda N-One E 4WD isn't even an option.
> Electricity is also quite expensive. I did the math on my PHEV - and even if I only charge overnight when electricity rates are lowest, I don't save very much over using gasoline
I'm curious how the math would work out with an all-denka plan. I work from home so I switched from an electric plan where during daylight solar hours my electricity drops to 13 yen/kWh
¥13/kWh is a very good rate. Does that include fuel adjustment and renewable energy surcharge?
My current overnight rate is about ¥21/kWh after factoring in those adjustments - so yes if I could charge at ¥13/kWh that would be a sigicant difference. I'm not aware of any providers that offer that rate in my region, though (electricity here tends to be more expensive than the national average).
I actually reran my calculations and it looks like running my car on electricity is about 40% less expensive per km than gasoline, which is better than I expected. While that's significant if I'm just looking at fuel costs, it's not that significant when I look at total cost of ownership. And I do expect electricity to have less of an advantage in winter, when waste heat from combustion can be used to heat the car.
I have a theory: Japanese car's have excellent reliability, their interiors and design are lacking. If every car in the world is an EV, which due to their relative simplicity tend to be reliable, what remaining unique selling points does eg a toyota have?
Honda and Toyota are still much better cars than most of the EVs on the market and their reliability is still very good and so is the price. In comparison to Ford, GM, Tesla, Volkswagen and some of the other European brands.
The Japanese made the right decision by not jumping on the EV bandwagon just to lose billions of dollars, very similar to Apple in comparison to their peers burning billions of dollars, chasing AI models. What is the point of going bankrupt burning Capex or decommissioning some parts of your industry like Germany.
Another example I could give is that over the years some tech people have kept harping on Sony and Nintendo in the gaming industry, on how they should follow Microsoft down the road of making no profit when it comes to games But lo and behold, they make a profit in that area.
One other footnote, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan support, are very loyal to their local industries, i.e. car manufacturers and electronic industries. Which is one of the reasons why still Apple does well in Eastern Asia, because they are like neutral territory, the Japanese will buy Apple products, but won’t buy their nearest neighbors products, and same thing goes for China, Korea, and Taiwan when they have a choice, which is an interesting dynamic.
I'd still prefer a more reliable EV to a less reliable one. Not too many good options for a EV minivan in the US (I'll never buy a Chrysler product, and I don't really want a VW).
Japan (Panasonic) is important baterry cell manufacturer, but most battery cells are exported, not used for domestic EVs. For example Panasonic is supplying batteries for Tesla.
Phrases that are equivalent to "full tank every morning with no need for drives to gas pumps" basically don't appear on Japanese Internet. I just googled a bit for Model 3 user reviews in Japanese, and most mentioned items seem to be futuristic experience, various minor QoL and reliability issues like sensors and actuator issues, and disappointing chassis dynamics such as torsional rigidity and suspension designs. Few mention home charging and none as a positive. Fewer mention the CEO as a factor, whose eccentricity is still not widely reported in Japan - Trump/Musk derangement is not fun to watch and media tend to sanewash or simply skip over those.
Though, I think Tesla is also not doing that bad in Japan? I see pre-Highlander M3 and occasional MY Juniper on the road, about as often as Porsche(all models). It's slightly more common than Nissan Sakura, and definitely more common than Ferrari and BYD cars(all models).