The 37th Tokyo Motor Show opens to the public Saturday in Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture, and the auto industry hopes the 12-day event will help stimulate the Japanese market.
The domestic car market expanded slightly this year thanks to new models. January-September car sales totaled 3.56 million units, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier.
But domestic demand is expected to remain flat or even decline in the long run as the nation's population grays, the economy sputters along and competition intensifies.