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The 2008 Inspire goes on sale Friday in Japan, months after the Accord came out here. (Photo courtesy of American Honda Motor Company, Inc.)

TOKYO — The 2008 Honda Inspire, known in these parts as the Honda Accord, hits the Japan market on Friday.

“It is the U.S.-spec Accord,” explains Chuck Schifsky, American Honda Motor spokesman, to Inside Line. “In other words: We’ve already got it.”

The 2008 Honda Accord made its debut in North America in September. Honda said on Wednesday that the Accord accounts for “global sales of nearly 700,000 units annually in more than 160 countries, accounting for approximately 20 percent of Honda’s global sales.” The Inspire is being pitched as a “luxury sedan” on Honda’s home turf.

Japanese buyers get their first crack at the fifth-generation Accord’s 3.5-liter V6 i-VTEC engine, which delivers 276 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque. There are no exterior changes in the Inspire when you compare it to the U.S. Accord.

The 2008 Honda Inspire price range is the equivalent of $29,200 to $34,500. In comparison, the base 2008 Honda Accord LX sedan starts at $20,995, including a $635 destination charge, in the U.S.

What this means to you: Japanese buyers lag a bit behind us when it comes to the new Accord. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent