Despite a recent strengthening of the yen against the dollar following the Bank of Japan’s interest rate hike and an anticipated U.S. rate cut, the current level in the ¥140 to the dollar range is still weak compared with the ¥100 level of five years ago.

The weak yen is having a major impact on businesses, including the used car market, where domestic buyers are finding it increasingly hard to buy amid surging export demand.

At SUV LAND Nagoya, a sales outlet of major used car dealer Nextage, a 2022 Toyota Voxy minivan with a mileage of 8,500 kilometers on the odometer is being sold for ¥4.55 million ($31,230) — a notably high price that might prompt a double take from a prospective buyer. Even though it is a high-grade hybrid model, the price tag is far above that of a new car, which is in the upper ¥3 million range.