Every verdict on this site follows the same procedure. We start from what the brand claims, then check it against sources in Japan — most of them in Japanese.
The six checks
- The claim. We record exactly how the brand presents itself: “Japanese craftsmanship,” “Japanese steel,” a founding story, a place name.
- The company. Is there a Japanese company behind it? We look for a Japanese corporate profile — company name, address, founding year — of the kind Japanese manufacturers publish as a matter of course.
- Country of origin. We read the specifications on product listings. What the box and the listing say beats what the ad copy says.
- Sales channels in Japan. Real Japanese brands are sold in Japan: official shops, Amazon.co.jp, Rakuten, Yodobashi. We check whether the brand shows up through official channels — marketplace resellers do not count.
- Support in Japan. A Japanese address or desk for warranty, repair, and contact.
- Japanese-language sources. Japanese reviews, news, and company coverage. A brand that is famous only in English is a signal in itself.
Our verdict scale
- Verified Japanese — a Japanese company we could verify, with a real presence in Japan.
- Japanese-style — Not a Japanese Company — sold with Japanese imagery, but we could not verify a Japanese company, Japanese manufacturing, or official Japanese sales channels.
- Unverified — not enough public information to decide either way.
- Mixed — partly Japanese (for example, a Japanese company manufacturing overseas), with the details spelled out on the page.
What we never do
We never call a brand a scam or a fraud. We publish only facts we can source, and we phrase findings as what we could — and could not — verify. If you represent a brand we have covered and have documentation we missed, contact us via the About page. We re-check, and we correct.