The Toyota Publica was a small car manufactured by the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese automaker

Automaker

The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....

 Toyota from 1961 to 1978. Conceived as a family car to fulfil the requirements of the "national car concept", it was the smallest Toyota car during that period and was superseded in that role by the Toyota Starlet

Toyota Starlet

The Toyota Starlet is a small automobile manufactured by Toyota from 1973 to 1999, replacing the Publica, but retaining the Publica's "P" code and generation numbering. The Starlet was marketed as the Publica in some Toyota export markets.-40 Series:...

, which itself started out as a version of the Publica. It was available as a 2-door vehicle only, but in a selection of body styles, ranging from the base sedan through a station wagon

Station wagon

A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...

, convertible

Convertible

A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...

, coupé

Coupé

A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...

 and even a pickup

Pickup truck

A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...

, which outlived the other models by a decade, and spawned other models, such as the Toyota Sports 800

Toyota Sports 800

The Toyota Sports 800 was Toyota Motor Corporation's first production sports car. The prototype for the Sports 800, called the Toyota Publica Sports, debuted at the 1962 Tokyo Auto Show, featuring a space age sliding canopy and utilizing the power train of the Toyota Publica 700, a Japanese market...

 or Toyota MiniAce.

The origins of the Publica can be traced to the "national car" concept of the omnipotent Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry

Ministry of International Trade and Industry

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry was one of the most powerful agencies of the Government of Japan. At the height of its influence, it effectively ran much of Japanese industrial policy, funding research and directing investment...

, which was announced in 1955.