Car of the Year Japan

{{short description|Annual Car of the Year award}}

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The annual Car of the Year Japan Award (日本カー・オブ・ザ・イヤー, nihon kā obu za iyā), also known as Japan Car of the Year (or JCOTY), is an annual Car of the Year award given for newly released or redesigned vehicles released in the car buying market in Japan in the twelve months beginning 1 November.

The award has been presented since 1980. The current recipient of the award for 2024 to 2025 is the Honda Freed.{{cite web|url=https://cleantechnica.com/2022/12/14/nissan-sakura-wins-2022-2023-japan-car-of-the-year-award-kei-car-of-the-year-award/|title=Nissan Sakura Wins 2022–2023 Japan Car Of The Year Award & Kei Car Of The Year Award|publisher=cleantechnica.com|date=14 December 2022|accessdate=20 February 2023}}

The first non-Japanese car to win the award was the Volkswagen Golf in 2013, followed by the Volvo XC60 in 2017 and the Volvo XC40 in 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.autoevolution.com/news/volkswagen-golf-named-car-of-the-year-in-japan-71741.html|title=Volkswagen Golf Named Car of the Year in Japan|last=Radu|first=Mihnea|publisher=autoevolution.com|date=25 November 2013|accessdate=5 November 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.driven.co.nz/news/volvo-xc60-crowned-japanese-car-of-the-year/|title=Volvo XC60 crowned Japanese Car of the Year|last=Kavermann|first=David|publisher=driven.co.nz|date=12 December 2017|accessdate=5 November 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.topgear.com.ph/news/car-news/volvo-xc40-2018-japan-car-of-the-year-a962-20181212|title=The Volvo XC40 is 2018's Japan Car of the Year|last=Laurel|first=Drei|publisher=topgear.com.ph|date=12 December 2018|accessdate=7 April 2021}} The highest-placed car from the United States was the Jeep Cherokee, which was eliminated in the final round in 2014 and was placed eighth.{{cite web|url=https://driving.ca/jeep/cherokee/auto-news/news/jeep-cherokee-nominated-for-car-of-the-year-award-in-japan|title=Jeep Cherokee nominated for Car of the Year award ... in Japan|last=Tragianis|first=Nick|publisher=driving.ca|date=17 October 2014|accessdate=5 November 2020}} The supervisory board is made up primarily of Japanese automotive journalists.

The award is not associated with the more recent Automotive Researchers’ and Journalists’ Conference (RJC) RJC Car of the Year Award, which has been issued since 1992.