Toyota To Launch Two China-Only Brands

The problem isn't so much the "Japanese-ness" of the brand. The problem is that while many Chinese consumers appreciate the quality of Japanese products, they are conflicted by the fact that the country from which these products hail, have done so much to injure China in the last 100 years. When I was living in northeastern China, every few month there would be an article in the paper or on TV about how a buried bomb (or sometimes chemical weapon) left by the Imperial Japanese Army during WW2 would be discovered buried in a field. Sometimes these would explode when discovered by inattentive construction crews, or even in some cases, schoolchildren playing in the countryside. While rationally one can separate these events from today's Japanese companies (with the exception of Mitsubishi perhaps, who had a direct hand in perpetrating all sorts of atrocities during the war), it is nevertheless hard to not think about the relationship when buying a car. The only way really for these companies to boost their image, is to lobby the government in Tokyo to adopt a less denial-based approach to history, much as the Germans have done since the war. It is often particularly alarming when I talk to Japanese friends, who believe honestly that Japan was the victim of aggression during the war. Having subsidiary companies masquerading around with "Chinese" names would probably do little to improve their prospects in China.

@ranwhenparked Recognized brands are results of cut-throat competition and not cultivation. I guess the CCP didn't fully learn the lesson when their planned economy didn't go according to plan.