Japan’s crowded auto industry is poised to look more like other major markets, with three or fewer carmakers left by the end of the decade. The 500 trillion yen ($4.4 trillion) economy is home to eight automakers, including the world’s sales leader Toyota Motor Corp., and other global players such as Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. That’s more than car-loving Germany, which has three domestic automakers, or the far bigger U.S. market, where Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Tesla Motors Inc. are the only independent companies left. Toyota’s deal in January to acquire the remainder of Daihatsu Motor Co. for about $3.2 billion in stock may represent the dawn of a leaner Japanese auto...
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