OK so the headlines are rather tongue-in-cheek but fresh from the launch of the Focus RS and with booming sales nine years after it narrowly avoided meltdown, Ford still hasn’t been able to crack the Japanese market. Maybe the Japanese follow Ford’s share value and if they do they will also know that as the company’s profits grow its stock price keeps falling. Maybe that’s why sales of Ford in Japan and Indonesia haven’t been going that well, in fact sales have been so bad Ford has decided to pull out of both territories altogether. As a result Ford announced it will close all operations in Japan and Indonesia and when Ford means it will close up for good that means every part of its business entity. And that means job losses. During 2015 Ford sold just 5,000 vehicles in Japan. Indonesia performed slightly better with 6,000 vehicles sold through 2015. Ford has been slapped down by tough competitors in Japan, simply put the Japanese prefer Toyota’s, Honda’s and Nissan’s. Some of Ford’s best selling car’s in Europe, such as the Fiesta, are a tough sell in the Far East, that also includes Mustangs and the Explorer SUV. The reason’s cited by analysts are that as Japan’s population ages demand for cars by a younger demographic lessens. Indonesia is a different matter, Ford has no local manufacturing presence in the region and is therefore not able to compete on a cost basis. On top of that Indonesia’s economy is slowing. Ford follows in the footsteps of General Motors who also exited the the far East market for similar reasons.