"It is unprecedented to see such a large number of carmakers not coming to the motor show. It's disappointing," said Kazusa Yoshino, a spokeswoman for the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, which sponsors the biennial auto event in October.

Yoshino said 22 foreign carmakers would pass on the Tokyo Motor Show, leaving only four foreign makers _ including South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co., Italy's Ferrari and British race car maker Lotus _ at the event.

All 22, which also include Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG, Porsche SE, had attended the previous Tokyo Motor Show in 2007.

Japan's top three automakers _ Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., and Honda Motor Co. _ and several other domestic carmakers are scheduled to join the event, Yoshino said.

While orders for hybrid vehicles by Toyota and Honda are strong, the outlook for Japan's automakers remains murky. Toyota, Nissan and Mazda have all tumbled into losses for the just-ended fiscal year, and all three project even more red ink in the year through March 2010.

In a bid to revive battered auto demand, Japan's government has launched incentives to allow buyers of new cars to get a tax reduction ranging from 50 percent to 100 percent under government incentives, depending on the mileage and emissions of the model.

The Japanese government has also proposed a rebate of about 250,000 yen ($2,640) for trading in a car 13 years old or older for an ecological vehicle _ although this plan has yet to win parliamentary approval.