This is important because the axle assemblies come in two types. The bolt on and the plug in. From what I have read, the Japan vehicles have bolt on. However, my made in Japan vehicle does not seem to have a bolt on. But the only way to be sure is to check.
Take a look where the axle meets the transmission on the driver's side. Also check the center drive shaft bearing on the passenger side. If you see six nuts holding the axle on, then you have the bolt-on type.
A great part about the above video (among other things) is this guy calmly doing the job in -7 degree weather, and then later in the dark to boot. And he took a video of the whole job. Our hat is off to him. Note that his mountain dew froze.You can buy entire "half axle" assemblies for about $50.
Here is the short course (based on a Gen 2 model, but most is relevant):
Loosen the 30mm axle nut on the steering knuckle before you jack the car up. Have someone press the brakes while you loosen them, or just set the parking brake. Jack the car up onto jackstands, and remove the wheel and 30mm axle nut. Then loosen the six small axle nuts (if you have that type) with a pry bar jammed in the wheel lugs. Remove the entire brake caliper from the hub and hang it up off to the side, taking care not to put any stress on the brake hose. Now loosen the tie-rod end, and undo the nut just a little bit (maybe a 1-2mm gap). After that, loosen the two large bolts/nuts on the strut, and then use a 3-arm puller to get the tie-rod end off the steering knuckle. Make sure the nut is on there when you do this, or it'll fly off. When that's off, you can pull out the two strut bolts, and be ready for the steering knuckle to spring upwards a few inches. You should now be able to pull the axle away from the tranny, tilt the steering knuckle outboard on the balljoint, lower the axle towards the ground, and slide it out of the spline in the hub.Install in reverse order. Don't let the axle stretch, or it'll come apart!
Tom's Camry pages / tom@mmto.org