I think the only Japanese cars that had any soul were the early Datsun roadsters, maybe the early '70s Datsun 510 (a poor man's 2002), the first generation 240/260/280z (78 was the last year, I think), and the most recent ('93?) Mazda RX-7. With that car, Mazda tried to build a real sports car, without all the fluff had become standard on the z-car and the hideous Mitsubishi 3000GT, but the public rejected it as too harsh, etc. But the bare-bones R-1 version sure hauled ass and handled well!.