I honestly don't think that in the field of electronics, the Japanese are reusing (or "pick(ing) up") any 90's American technology. The electric cars of the 90's were an exercise in marketing, not engineering. Any dufus can strap a dozen batteries into a chassis and put an electric motor under the hood (ever see that electric drag 240sx?). That's exactly what those cars were. I got to poke around in one as part of my advance physics class back in 1997.