Agree with you. A lot of people (in Pakistan specially) have this misconception that Japanese people are angels that are utmost honest and civil and do not behave in any sort of unsocial behavior, some kind of an example of a good society. You completely disregard this stereotype once you actually learn about the things they have done in the past and the things they do as of currently; specially talking about xenophobia and the aforementioned superiority complex.

In Japan, it is impossible for you to get a respectable job and position in Japanese society if you are anything other than Japanese. Even if you’re a half Japanese person, you’re still treated like an outsider regardless if you lived there your whole life. Forget about being black or white or Arab or Mediterranean, even if you’re an Asian (from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand etc.) you’ll still be treated as a sub human in society and you cannot find yourself a worthy job that is anything other than hard labor.

But then despite how Japan has promoted positive image of themselves about punctuality, businessman’s honesty, product quality and health, the other side of the coin is centuries of expansionism and bloodshed, racism, Japanese superiority complex and xenophobism, then when US atom bombed them and they were humiliated to the level of promising to not ever having an army again, they practiced gender exploitation which you can do the world a favor by reading about the plight of comfort women, frotteurism, legalized gang culture by the name of Yakuza who take “protection money” from businesses, never ending poverty despite being a modern country, slave driving employment practices, continuously declining birth rate because they overwork everybody so much noone has time or energy to make babies, and poor ecomonic policies leading to ever increasing unemployment and deflation.

Now after seeing both sides of the coins do you find any reason to worship Japanese ideals?
I wish I could’ve avoided this … but in view of the ever-increasing levels of Japanese fanboyism, it is necessary to see the Japs as mere humans, good in some aspects and bad in others.

1st:
Mining conditions are bad. They have been highlighted recently and hopefully things will improve due to international pressure. Even big names like Tesla, Porsche, Mercedes etc., have been under pressure to ensure no parts are used from areas with human-rights violations. It is putting pressure on the mining community.

2nd:
On the one hand you are saying that battery recycling can only be done under strict criteria. Then in the next sentence you claim it cannot be done.🤔
Here is some info on battery recyclers from around the globe. The biggest setups are again from China. The Chinese company, Brunp Recycling Technology already has the biggest battery recycling setups in the world. It is, in turn, owned by the biggest battery manufacturer in the world, the Chinese company CATL.

https://www.engineering.com/story/the-whos-who-of-lithium-ion-battery-recycling

Battery recycling is being done currently and is fast being researched for more efficient methods of recycling.

3rd:
Europe’s Energy crisis is due to a lot of factors spanning all energy types such as gas, fossil fuels and electricity generation methods. It is more of a case of bad policy and business decisions and nothing to do with EVs. Almost similar case is there in the US. The added problem there is because of the literally very old and outdated power grid of the US that has not been updated at all.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/10/05/energy-crisis-europe-electricity-gas-renewable-us/#:~:text=In%20reality%2C%20Europe%E2%80%99s%20energy%20policy%20failures%20are%20much%20more%20complex%20and%20have%20little%20to%20do%20with%20the%20debate%20over%20renewables%20and%20fossil%20fuels.

4th:
Yes, Hybrids are now the main sellers (unlike in countries like ours where hybrids are still not common). But even in other nations, especially in Norway or Denmark etc., the prices of running/owning Hybrids are increasing due to increase in emissions taxes; as an incentive for people to buy EVs. Even China and other nations are taking similar steps.

https://autovista24.autovistagroup.com/news/denmark-agrees-green-conversion-road-transport/#:~:text=Cars%20that%20emit%20less%20than,year%20to%2080%25%20in%202030.

5th:
Matter of perspective. But consider this… It is in the best interest of this company to spread the misinformation. It is better for their share price. “Keeping their eyes on other parts of the world” is right! They saw the EV spread and have now offered battery vehicles. Mind you they have constantly said battery vehicles. Like I said before; Most will be some form of hybrids with just a few true EVs here and their to keep fanboys such as yourself happy and singing their praises. The parent is right in his assessment. This company or any for that matter should not be given the right to distribute pamphlets to minors with misinformation or cherry picked or neutered bits of half truths to benefit their point of view. But considering who I’m responding to, you will not see any problem with this.

6th:
EVs were some of the first cars to be made/experimented with over a hundred years ago. EVs have been around for a long time. They really picked up steam/popularity in the 1990’s. Toyota even made one of its own first attempts, the first gen Rav 4 EV, back in the 90’s. The second gen they made with collaboration with Tesla; Which they promptly botched because of their shortsighted approach to this method of mobility.
EVs had/have already proved their worth. That is why big name companies like Tesla and many others exist. EVs have been proving their versatility and use case for the last decade. Adoption is gaining ground fast. That is why many nations, who are seeing the wide scale adoption by the public and owing to their government provided incentives, are giving timelines like 2030 or 2035 or 2040 for the replacement of most of the cars on their roads with EVs.

https://www.wri.org/insights/what-projected-growth-electric-vehicles-adoption#:~:text=EV%20sales%20grew%20from%20less,EVs%20cheaper%20than%20traditional%20vehicles.

PSS:
There are many methods of carbon neutrality. Yes, it is not a crime to pursue any method. But why do it by slandering a technology by distributing pamphlets with half truths or straight up misinformation and omission?
If you have been following CSP, we even now know the CEO of Honda is not agreeing with the Toyota CEO’s approach to hydrogen as fuel. Burning it is not the right way and is inefficient. And on top of all that he is doing it while being the head of one of a few companies already working and brining into production a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle! Toyota methods are attracting criticisms from a lot of industry experts and governments.
And, these are not my thoughts or words. These are industry leaders saying these things about Toyota and its CEO.

P.S. As for carbon neutrality, E.V. is not the only way, there are other ways and pursuing them is not a crime. Therefore, from a strategy’s point, I disagree with this parent. He has done nothing but slandering.

Well said!

Toyota’s CEO seems to be power mad. They made a bad call on EV technology at the start and it came back to bite them. So what? This is the business world. Stuff like that happens all the time. That does not mean that now he has to go on a personal vendetta against it rather than seeing its potential for the future and adopting it. He must realize that it is a loosing battle. Burying his head in the sand and translating everything into (inefficient) combustion engine terms, even hydrogen power, is not the answer.

He might have the political power with the Japan government to distribute material to Japanese schools to spread this misinformation and dupe or mislead the Japanese people. However he cannot do this to the whole world. Even other nations are now recognizing Toyota’s bad behavior. He begrudgingly has now said that Toyota will release its line of battery vehicles. Again, it will most probably be a case of a lot of Hybrids and Plugin hybrids with just a dash of battery EVs sprinkled on top to keep the fanboys happy.
(Giving a company the power to distribute such misleading propaganda is not right. At least the Jap government must not allow this practice and ask for verification or clarification.)

“If they’re okay with doing this on their own home country, they’re certainly okay with doing this anywhere else…”

That is especially true here in Pakistan. Its like we are the test bed for them to see how far they can push things.

JAMA and PAMA are exactly the same. Both have the head of Toyota sitting at the top and both are the main hindrance to the advancement and change to their respective country’s auto sectors.

The head of PAMA/CEO of Indus Toyota has been instrumental in keeping any support of value from the local parts vendor industry. A point the vendor industry has been screaming about. But since the government is totally under the influence of PAMA and their bureaucratic power, Pakistan’s auto industry has been suffering. Even our EV policy is DOA, useless and poised to fail.

Our PAMA has the same mindset as their JAMA; no EVs, only Hybrids. Wonder why?

Japanese corporations and businesses (and Japanese people in general) are very xenophobic and do not like foreign involvement in their business. To start selling EVs, they have to first get technology from these foreign resources. As written above, Japanese businesses only care about Japanese business and employment as priority. Instead of adapting, they choose to stay backwards just so their underpaid family owned parts makers can stay happy. The whole Carlos Ghosn fiasco was just this; he wanted Nissan to expand and become a Global merger company instead of just being a Japanese company, and his peers did not like one bit of it.

It’s disgusting how cute and cuddly they have made their propaganda just so they can appeal to people, and even worse, children. Toyota is literally willing to change the whole mindset of a whole generation of people just so they can stay in business. This shows how ruthless and immoral corporate companies can become.

And lastly… this shows us that if you’re big and wealthy enough, you can make anyone join your side. Toyota has made the government of Japan take the side of a corporate business.

I hope Toyota fails with their terrible efforts towards manipulating people and the market, and I actually hope to see more and more EVs succeed, because even if you’re against EVs or HEVs, This kind of behavior cannot be ignored and excused from a business. If they’re okay with doing this on their own home country, they’re certainly okay with doing this anywhere else…