In a surprisingly candid statement, Toyota Motor Corporation spokesman Hideaki Homma said that, should the US auto industry collapse, that would spell disaster for them as well. “The conditions for the US auto market are extremely tough right now, and any additional negative is sure to make things worse.” One of the biggest reasons for the worry, sources say, is that Japanese and American auto makers share many of the same parts suppliers, and should the American auto industry collapse, the parts suppliers would fail as well, which would in turn cause a chain reaction that could wreak havoc in America, a sector that is vital to the Japanese auto industry as well as the United States’.

Another reason that Japanese auto makers are worrying is the fact that, should the US auto industry collapse, millions of jobs would be lost and consumer spending would be sharply curbed, resulting in fewer people spending money – and fewer people buying Japanese cars. Combined, all three American auto makers (Ford, GM and Chrysler) employ 239,000 workers, and millions more are tied into the fate of those auto makers. Economists estimate that 2.5 million people would lose their jobs, should the Big Three go under.

“Whether it is the impact on consumer confidence or the impact on the suppliers that we all share, having one or more of the major automakers in severe distress has consequences for the entire industry,” said Simon Sproule, corporate vice president of global communications at Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third-biggest carmaker.

The only way that Japanese auto makers could turn this to their advantage would be much further into the future – decades later – when competition would be scarce and the economy has rebounded from the incredible recession the fall of those companies would mean. The advantage would only grow if Toyota and other Japanese auto makers focused on hybrid technology and clear fuel sources. But even if there would be an advantage later, that still doesn’t solve the problem now. In November, when American auto sales dropped 37 percent to their worst levels in 26 years, Toyota’s sales dropped 34 percent, Nissan’s were down 42 percent and Honda Motor Co.’s fell 32 percent.