Some of it might just be a japanese economics/security/government thing. Energy independence is really big for the japanese, and battery supply might be looking

Some of it might just be a japanese economics/security/government thing. Energy independence is really big for the japanese, and battery supply might be looking like another foreign dependence (especially on the big bad Chinese). Some of it may be the japanese corporate culture being ossified and difficult to make large adaptations, since seniority is so important, you can't dissent. Some of it may be an attempt to chase sunk costs / leverage former investments and market leaderships (FCEV) before Tesla left those in the dust. Some of it may be that Toyota knows they missed the boat and are hoping to keep as many irons hot for future flexibility. Honestly, they may not like China, but they can get in the EV game effortlessly with some rebadging of Chinese stuff or just hopping on the Chinese drivetrain and battery infrastructure in the short run.