We have a ton of hybrids; the Prius is one of the most common cars I see and they’re not the only one.

A lot of people also don’t drive so car ownership tends to be highest in the more rural and poorer areas. Purchasing power has gone down, inflation has gone up, and wages haven’t kept pace, especially out here in the rural areas. Gas is kept cheap-ish (160ish JPY/litre) and, were it not, I think the countryside would fall apart combined with rising food costs. I don’t know how long that will hold out (I imagine diesel will be kept down since tractors and such run on it), though.

Ever since they shut down the nuclear reactors in a reaction to the tsuanmi, electricity prices have increased. Then we had Russia invading Ukraine (again) which further pinched imports of petrochem stuff. We’re a resource-poor island, after all.

I don’t know anyone out here in the countryside looking to buy a new personal vehicle in this climate. My sample size is small, but I imagine all of these things are factors. I can’t speak as much to what the city folk are thinking, but most people I know have no desire to own a car to begin with and use car-share services when they need one (or traditional rentals, especially for vans/trucks).