Shotaro Kamiya was the man that convinced his counterparts at Toyota to begin exporting passenger cars to the United States. Kamiya-san is listed, along with “Toyota Archives” as the two sources in this book stating that the first samples arrived in Long Beach, California, from Yokohama.
The Toyopet was not just the first TOYOTA to arrive on US shores, it was the first Japanese made vehicle to arrive in the United States.
This is a great book about the entire process of Japan exporting automobiles to the US, and it includes a good chapter on TOYOTA and those first Toyopet samples.
This is a good research source for anyone who is seeking to know early Toyota history.
Tupelo Toyopet 