Why do Japanese cars have a reputation for being so much more reliable than their American or Euro counterparts?

Question

Why do Japanese cars have a reputation for being so much more reliable than their American or Euro counterparts?

In: 2

Answer 1

When I was a kid, Japanese cars were just becoming a thing and National Geographic did an issue on them. One picture that I’ll never forget is a Japanese QC engineer with a wax pencil going over an American built car, looking for things that wouldn’t pass their inspection. It was covered in red circles.