Toyota Motor Corp.’s top North American executive said Japan should open its cash-for-clunkers program to U.S. automakers — potentially adding pressure on the Japanese government to change a program that so far has left U.S. companies on the sidelines.

“We support that it will be allowed,” Yoshi Inaba, 63, president of Toyota Motor North America Inc., told the Automotive News World Congress Tuesday night in response to a question about opening up Japan’s program.

Inaba added, though, that he would leave the issue to the U.S. and Japanese officials who have been in talks on the topic for several weeks.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said Inaba’s comments were “a very positive sign.”

“The Japanese government should listen to him,” she said in an interview at the Automotive News World Congress. “From a public relations perspective, it’s very poor judgment on their part.”

Bill introduced

Stabenow introduced a bill last week that requires continuing negotiations between the U.S. Trade Representative and the Japanese until the cash-for-clunkers program is opened to U.S. automakers. If the Japanese do not yield, the bill calls for the U.S. Trade Representative to consider filing a lawsuit alleging violations of World Trade Organization rules.

The senator said she would give U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk only a few weeks to produce results before she pushes for Senate passage of the bill.

Stabenow said she has spoken directly with Kirk and Obama administration economic adviser Lawrence Summers, and both were aware of the issue.

A similar bill has been introduced in the House by Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio.

“Our position remains that changes are necessary to give U.S. vehicles greater opportunity to qualify under Japan’s program,” a U.S. Trade Representative spokeswoman said today. “We hope to find a way forward through these discussions.”

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