70 years sounds pretty good, but it doesn't tell the whole story. Toyota was supported by the Japanese government (through subsidies, capital controls and trade

70 years sounds pretty good, but it doesn't tell the whole story. Toyota was supported by the Japanese government (through subsidies, capital controls and trade restrictions) for quite a few years after it switched over from textile manufacturing to automobiles in 1933. It was even bailed out in 1949 when it had major liquidity problems. So while the 70 years of no operating losses is technically true, there was a period of time where Toyota was practically propped up by the Japanese government. References: (1) http://www.shmula.com/291/toyota-motor-corporation-company-history http://www.shmula.com/291/toyota-motor-corporation-company-h... (2) The economist Ha-Joon Chang also has some good discussion on the Japanese government's involvement with Toyota (eg. http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9653 http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=96...)