At a time when Detroit's top automakers are closing plants and slashing jobs to revive themselves, their Japanese counterparts are busy opening plants in Japan for the first time in decades.
That's because there is a strong demand for small, fuel-efficient cars, including the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit -- all of which are made in Japan for the U.S. market -- as well as luxury models and hybrids, most of which are made here.
But there's also a shift away from the conventional wisdom that automakers are best off making cars in the same region where they sell.