One advantage the Japanese had or have is they take a base car and then upgrade it. So, they have a greater total of parts to spread the production cost over. Some of their luxury offering are a rebranded product. The Big Three did that too. Much of that did not go over well. Honda used basically the same motor from their sedans in the NSX. Not quite the performance level of say a Ferrari, but close and the drivability was much better.
I'd also see some of MB, BMW etc. as more perceived as a Buick in their native land. MBs were or are used as Taxis over there. I can remember one neighbor had 2-3 Porsche 911s parked on the curb. He club raced them.