The Japanese automotive industry began to hit its stride. By the late 1960’s, both Toyota and Nissan had rapidly increased both their production and exports. By the late 1970’s, exports accounted for over 50% of Japanese production and by 1980 Japan overtook the United States as the world’s top automobile producing country. Japanese automobile companies began building manufacturing facilities in North America, with Honda, Nissan and Toyota moving first and Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, and Isuzu eventually following. The rapid appreciation of the yen after agreements made at the G-5 meeting in September 1985 led to further expansion of foreign production in both advanced and developing countries. The three largest Japanese firms globalized their operations at different paces, however, with Honda and Nissan expanding their foreign manufacturing footprint much more aggressively than Toyota.