1960s

Japan's first expressway, the Meishin Expressway, opened its first section near Osaka and Kyoto on 16 July 1963.

In Japan, motorization progressed from shortly after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, as affordable mass-market cars spread to ordinary households from the late 1960s into the 1970s.

Honda won its first Formula One race at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, with Richie Ginther driving the RA272 and leading every lap.

The Toyota Corolla went on sale in 1966, the same year the Nissan (Datsun) Sunny was introduced.

The Mazda Cosmo, produced from 1967, launched Mazda's Wankel rotary engine and was, along with the NSU Ro80, one of the first production cars with a two-rotor Wankel engine.

The Toyota 2000GT, first shown at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show, was designed by Toyota in collaboration with Yamaha and built under contract by Yamaha from 1967 to 1970.

The Tomei Expressway opened its first sections in 1968 and was completed in 1969.