The Jeep was introduced to the Japanese market as the Jeep J3 in July 1953 after Willys agreed to allow Mitsubishi to market the car, competing with the Nissan Patrol and the Toyota Land Cruiser. The name wasn't in reference to "CJ3", but rather denoted the fact that 53 "J1"s (CJ-3A with 6-volt electrics) had been built for the Japanese regional forest office and around 500 "J2"s (CJ-3A with 12-volt electrics) were built for the National Safety Forces. Mitsubishi continued knock-down production of vehicles derived from the CJ-3B design until August 1998, when tighter emissions and safety standards finally made the Jeep obsolete. In total, about 200,000 units were built in this 45-year period. Short, medium, and long wheelbases were available, as well as a variety of bodystyles, and gasoline and diesel engines. In Japan, it was sold at a specific retail chain called Galant Shop. The Japanese GSDF refers to them as Type 73 Light Truck.