When Japan was rebuilding post WW2 a lot of advisors from the UK ( and US?) were there helping. The Japanese took a lot of the then good guidance and improved/developed it themselves. Bigger companies sub-contracted out to smaller ones with very tight quality and delivery monitoring. Hence the build up of the Japanese quality reputation.
I remember talking to a car salesman who moved from a Western manufacturer to a Japanese one. When he sold the “western” it was not uncommon to see the car back in. At the Japanese one he only saw the car again when traded in for new.
A lot of the big names in QA development soon became Japanese orientated ( no pun intended) as they developed systems and processes. The West fell behind in a big way, sticking to outdated practices and a cultural reluctance to change. See the British Leyland demise.
Em, buy a Seagull as a back up outboard. Simple design!
