An interesting combination of the economic recession in the United States and a perfect storm of contributing factors in Japan has resulted in Japan buying more hybrid vehicles in June than the U.S.

America’s population is more than double that of Japan’s and their GDP is almost five times, yet, in the month of June there were 8,782 Honda Insight hybrids sold and  22,292 Toyota Prius hybrids sold. Those two companies alone accounted for far more sales in Japan than all of the hybrids sold in U.S., which capped out at 26,205.

The dip in American car sales is no surprise, but what is really interesting the spike in Japan that has led to a seven month waiting list just to buy a 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid (pictured above).

It’s mainly a combination of high gas prices in Japan, at $4.50/gallon, and a government tax break that has made all hybrids exempt from purchasing tax.