Japan changed a key policy document to show its support for hybrids was on par with battery-electric vehicles after a lawmaker cited the head of Toyota saying automakers couldn't back a government that rejected the technology popularized by the Prius, according to notes from a ruling party meeting.
The wording changes, which included adding a reference to "so-called electric-powered vehicles," appear to put fossil-fuel burning hybrids on equal footing with zero-emission battery vehicles, even though environmentalists say there is a vast difference.
Japan's auto industry, particularly Toyota Motor, has come under pressure from environmentalists and green investors who say it has been slow to embrace battery-electric vehicles and lobbied governments to undermine a transition to them.
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