Japan did have some very significant moments in the past...
- 89 LS400 - extremely over-engineered, seriously challenged the German big boys.
- NA1 NSX - a reliable and user friendly super car (in the old days standard anyway), something the Europeans didn't know exist. Gordan Murray agreed.
- 09 R35 GTR - heavy pig bending physics to take on 911 Turbo for half the price.
One may add Vtec and Prius to the list. However, outside of them, I personally wouldn't put Japanese in the same pedestal with the Europeans in terms of technological break through.
Ford has such a mature V6 turbo game nowadays (they use that thing everywhere!), where we the Nissan/Infiniti guys are just finally getting a VR38. And oh, Tesla is certainly changing the game again. I still love my Z tho. Keep it simple, keep it NA. I'll ride with this VQ for a long time.