The Ford Fiesta, a subcompact, can tow 2,000lb. For the vast, vast majority of tow jobs a standard car with a hitch will be just fine. Fuck, half of England tows RVs across their country every summer and they mostly drive cars smaller than Americans.
Oh, and the person driving that Kei truck? He likely doesn't own it, it's for his job. Trucks are work vehicles. Almost no Americans need pickup trucks. It's a luxury status symbol that's highly dangerous. The few times someone needs to haul shit, you can rent one and then you don't have to worry as much about scratching the pristine bed that 99% of American truck owners never use.