As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump surprised and angered many in Japan with comments about how unfair Japan's trade policies were.
His Twitter comments threatening Toyota Motor Corp. with a border tax if they built a plant in Mexico and tried to sell their cars in the U.S. sparked heated and defensive rhetoric from Japan's business leaders, politicians, and media.
But they also dredged up memories of three decades ago, when similar comments were heard in Washington and America's industrial heartland, where Trump enjoys strong support.