YOKOHAMA (AP) -- The new sprawling Japanese shopping mall has the usual restaurants and stores, even a fitness gym. But it's the shiny Camry and other Toyota models that take center stage -- not only at the dealers but on display in the walkways.

The indoor shopping mall, with 220 stores and restaurants, opening to the public this week, is being developed, built and operated by a relative newcomer to the business -- Toyota Motor Corp.

It's the latest attempt by the Japanese automaker to tackle a serious problem in its home Japan market: Young people are rapidly losing interest in cars. Overseas, however, Toyota is doing so well that it has nearly overtaken General Motors Corp. in global vehicle sales.

Sales of new autos in Japan for the fiscal year starting next month are forecast to drop to a 27-year-low of 5.3 million vehicles, down 0.6 percent from the previous year, as demand gets battered by soaring gas prices and sluggish wage growth, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

In Japan, the usual old ways of selling cars like showrooms and TV ads are no longer working. Youngsters are choosing to spend on mobile phones and laptops than on cars, Toyota officials say.

A study last year by The Nikkei, Japan's top business daily, found that some people in their 20s said they didn't want a car, even if it were free. Others said they didn't find the idea of going for a drive with a date or zipping around on a sportscar as particularly appealing.

The goal of owning a car -- taken for granted during the modernization that followed World War II -- is no longer true, the report said.

Other factors, including Japan's declining population, are behind the falling sales. Japan has excellent public transportation, including trains and subways, and so many feel they don't need a car.

Also, parking is often expensive, with many apartment buildings charging 10,000 yen (US$100) per month. And traffic can be congested.

In that context, perking interest is so difficult that automakers are resorting to offering other consumer activities, like grocery shopping, to coax buyers to consider buying a car or trade in their wheels for a new model.

Dealers must actively seek out buyers, instead of passively waiting for people to come to the showrooms, car companies say.

"We need to provide opportunities for people to come in contact with cars," Toyota Senior Managing Director Yoichiro Ichimaru, who oversees Japan sales, told The Associated Press Tuesday.

Toyota Automall Development Corp., a Toyota subsidiary set up in 1999, already runs one shopping mall in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, near Toyota's headquarters.

The new Tressa mall, inspired by the French word for braiding "tressage," in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, opened partly in December, and is set to fully open to the public this week.

The mall looks much like any other mall, with its clothing and toy stores, arcade game center, nail salon and cafes.

But its shopping carts are shaped like cars, and a plastic model store boasts a big lineup of car models, including Toyotas. And massive space is allocated to Toyota showrooms.

Toyota is also showing off its robot technology, including a humanoid that plays a trumpet. Atsushi Komatsuki, president of Toyota Automall Development, said he hopes to have partner robots helping out at the mall later this year.

But it's unclear if Toyota's sales tactic will work.

Mieko Yabe, shopping for clothes with her baby at Tressa, said the mall is convenient because she lives in the neighborhood, but expressed little interest in owning a Toyota car.

"We have absolutely no interest in Japanese cars. My husband drives a BMW," the 35-year-old housewife said.

Toyota, which controls nearly half of the Japanese market, is seeing its domestic sales fall, selling 2.26 million vehicles in Japan last year, down 4 percent from the previous year. Overseas sales, meanwhile, jumped 10 percent on year to 7.1 million vehicles.

Other Japanese automakers are also working hard to boost domestic sales.

Last year, Nissan set up a recording company to have popular bands produce original tunes that were TV ad jingles for Nissan models but were also sold as CDs and downloads.

Nissan also set up a shopping Web page featuring cute mascotlike items and developed cars with special features and marketing campaigns to target young women.

Atsushi Kawai, auto analyst with Mizuho Investors Securities, believes manufacturers haven't done enough to develop cars for the Japanese market, focusing instead on costs cuts and overseas models that sell in numbers.

"Domestic sales are a total disaster now," he said. "A car used to symbolize a dream. People used to work hard to buy a car. These days, nobody is saying that. No one thinks a car is cool anymore."

Copyright 2005-2006 THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS. All rights reserved. Mainichi features the best news in Japan, current news in Japan, Japan news in English, Japan business news, Tokyo Japan news, and Japan entertainment news. Mainichi News is syndicated in accordance with editorial regulations: personal and noncommercial purposes.

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