On Wednesday, Toyota said that it planned to start selling its first fuel-cell vehicle for the mass market by the end of March 2015 in Japan for about 7 million yen, or $68,700. The Japanese automaker also said that it was preparing to start selling a fuel-cell vehicle around the summer of 2015 in the United States and Europe.

With two of Japan’s three biggest automakers going all in on fuel cells, the country’s long-term future as an automotive powerhouse could now hinge largely on the success of what they hope will be an important technology in the next few decades.

The auto sector carries special significance in Japan, providing nearly one in 11 jobs and about one-fifth of its manufacturing output. It is also one of the few big industries where Japan remains at the pinnacle of global competition, after losing much of its edge in electronics and elsewhere.

Japan’s governing party is pushing for ample subsidies and tax breaks for consumers to bring the cost of a fuel-cell car down to about $20,000 by 2025. The government is also aiming to create 100 hydrogen fuel stations by the end of March 2016 in urban areas where the vehicles will be sold initially.

“To stay globally competitive, Japan cannot afford to lag behind in this area,” said Yuriko Koike, a former environment minister who heads a group of ruling party lawmakers advocating hydrogen energy.