Originally designed and manufactured in Japan, the Justy was introduced to Japan in 1984. The design was a widened and stretched version of the Rex kei car, still using the same doors and some other pressings. To Japanese buyers, it was longer and wider and had an engine larger than kei car dimension regulations outlined, while keeping the engine displacement just under 1000 cc to minimize the annual road tax obligation. The electronically controlled, continuously variable "ECVT" transmission was introduced in February 1987. Production of this model was limited to 500 per month due to limited supplies of steel bands from Van Doorne transmission, but as the Justy ECVT was not an unqualified success this was not a real problem. When supplies later increased, Subaru chose to use them for the smaller Rex instead. The Justy was originally available with a low or a high roof, although the flat roofed version was eventually allowed to wither away.