Japan’s auto makers called for an end to restraints.

Officials of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said the auto makers requested an end to Japan’s voluntary restraints on automobile exports to the United States when their fiscal year ends in March. The auto makers said the quota, which puts a 2.3-million vehicle cap on auto exports to the U.S. for the fiscal year, no longer is necessary. The companies said the strengthening of the Japanese yen against the dollar, which makes Japanese products more expensive in the United States, would prevent them from selling many additional cars on the U.S. market.