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bsatow
131
Dec 1, 2017
There are TWO kinds of Zojirushi products. Ones made in Japan and ones made in China. I hope these are the made in Japan version. The quality control of the Chinese made Zojirushi products is questionable. Although they are supposed to be made exactly the same, many consumers feel that the Zojirushi products made in China are not as good or last as long or are as reliable as the Japan made version. This is not just my personal view. Tourism from China to Japan also indicate this. Thousands come to Japan and buy the same product in Japan for double the price than the ones made in China. No only Zojirushi, but Toto, Sharp, Toshiba, etc...
Glottis
73
Dec 1, 2017
bsatowCan you provide some sources so we can determine what the material difference between these two rice cookers is rather than relying on hearsay of opinions. Your comments about Sharp are interesting considering that Sharp is owned by a company based in Taiwan and hasn't made much of anything inside of Japan for a very long time. Do they import it into Japan, chant something that can't be broken down into facts or figures and it becomes better by way of something that nobody can measure or define?
bsatowThis model is made in Japan. I can say having seen several of the models that were made in China that the quality is also very solid.
Glottis
73
Dec 2, 2017
bsatowSo you present your evidence by giving more hearsay rather than backing your facts up with.. facts?
The most comprehensive comparison out of all your links is the second to last link where somebody compares the attributes of both models from a technical perspective and also speaks about their personal experience with both products and the experiences of friends/acquaintances who own one or the other, their conclusion is the Chinese one is a better buy:
If I were choosing between the two, I’d probably go with the ns-tsc10. Sure, the lcd display and spherical inner pot of the ns-zcc10 are impressive, but the tsc-10 comes with the steamer function and tray.
You should get into wine tasting.
ac3698
143
Dec 2, 2017
bsatowAre you aware that recently in Japan there is a growing Scandal over companies(including Mitsubishi and Subaru) faking product-quality data? This scandal involves a big company that manufactures steel for airplanes, building construction materials and many other products. Japanese products are not as high quality as what they were before, see link below:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/28/566939490/in-japan-a-growing-scandal-over-companies-faking-product-quality-data https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mitsubishi-ma-scandal/mitsubishi-cable-head-quits-over-data-falsification-scandal-idUSKBN1DV43W?il=0
bsatow
131
Dec 2, 2017
ac3698I believe that the steel is produced in China for Japan and sold by Japan. Why do you think the product quality data is fake?
bsatow
131
Dec 2, 2017
GlottisSo you are trying to tell me that good hearsay are facts, and the ones you disagree with are not? This "hearsay" is mainly from Chinese tourists who go to Japan and want to buy the same products that are manufactured in Japan and not China, but also manufactured in China.
https://www.nippon.com/en/features/h00070/
" In response to the increase in customers from China, major electronics stores in Tokyo have hired Chinese-speaking staff, and it is common to hear the sales floors alive with the buzz of Mandarin. At the main Akihabara branch of the Laox chain, an affiliate of the Chinese electronics retail giant Suning Appliance, 70% of the customers are said to be from China. And this phenomenon is not unique to Akihabara. An employee at Bic Camera, a chain with stores in Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, and other major shopping districts around the capital, notes that as Chinese shoppers have increased, high-end products, in particular professional-grade cameras and deluxe rice cookers, have been “selling like hotcakes.” 
Why do Chinese visitors choose to buy these products in Japan despite the availability of similar items at home? As one Chinese individual explains, “It’s because they want items that are made in Japan.” He adds, “There have actually been cases where people buy what they assume are Japanese products as presents for people at home but, when the recipients open them up, they’re disappointed to find them marked ‘Made in China,’ This would be funny if it weren’t so unfortunate. The highest-quality cameras and lenses are made in Japan, and people are willing to pay hundreds of thousands of yen for the items they want.”

If there is any doubt of quality, then why is it hearsay unless it is based upon facts? For example, one of the articles I posed mentioned that teflon coating in the bowl tended to flake off on Chinese made units quicker than the Japanese made units. You can see many of these posts on Amazon by customer reviews. If that is hearsay, I would still believe it because no one would mention anything like that except the consumer.
ac3698
143
Dec 2, 2017
bsatowKobe Steel is a Japanese manufacturer not an import/export company. If they import steel from China and rebrand it as a product of Japan then it is fraudulent. No matter where the metals came from if Kobe Steel falsify data on their products it is a crime and they jeopardize the lives of all consumers affected. The scandal initially concerned copper and aluminum parts, but has spread to steel products, too. It has raised doubts about thousands of tons of material shipped over a period of more than 10 years. For the aluminum and copper parts, false data was given about their strength and durability. Kobe steel sells metal to all kinds of different businesses. Some of the main industries to which it has supplied the suspect products include aviation, automobiles, railways and nuclear power. Kobe Steel (KBSTY), a century-old industrial giant, has admitted to falsifying data on products sold to top customers like Boeing (BA) and Toyota (TM). Japanese automakers Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC) and Nissan (NSANF) acknowledged they had used affected Kobe materials but were still assessing the consequences for their vehicles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Steel I used to value Japanese products highly but not anymore , this is reality and unbiased. Above information is based on CNN Money US report, please refer to link above.
Glottis
73
Dec 3, 2017
bsatowAdding to what ac3698 said, Kobe steel also provides steel for nuclear reactors in Japan and two of them are going to be delayed for inspection for 2 months because they might contain bad steel. I mean if they are sourcing steel for a nuclear power plant from unknown or unverified sources only a few years after incompetence and laziness lead to Fukushima what makes you think your fancy little rice cooker isn't shipping with wire that wasn't stripped by blind Japanese men with special gloves made in Osaka.
Everyplace makes good stuff and bad stuff, you can't say "made in this country therefore best, always has been and still is", you shouldn't even be making these sort of claims without some sort of hard evidence anyway you just confuse people who are trying to learn something.
Just don't comment and try to advise other people about something when you don't know anything yourself, lifestyle blogs are not exactly the top of the list when somebody is researching something for your information, where the information comes from is much more important than what it says.
ac3698
143
Dec 3, 2017
GlottisAgree with Glottis, there are always bad apples among good ones. I believe in unbiased reviews that focus on products and I wouldn't want to make statements without solid facts. The reason I brought up the Japanese scandals was because their products were so highly respected (and still are) and I like to point out the fact that they are just as profit driven as others. As consumers spending our hard earned money, we should pay more attention to what's going on in the market place especially when health and safety issues are involved. Enough said, I think we should return our focus on this rice cooker.
bsatow
131
Dec 3, 2017
ac3698Personally, whether you believe in hearsay or not, as well as the Kobe steel scandal, I would still like to know which country this particular rice cooker is manufactured from. And there is nothing wrong with stating hearsay, especially when much of it is from the Chinese tourists themselves. That is why I posted from and quoted this link.
https://www.nippon.com/en/features/h00070/ " Why do Chinese visitors choose to buy these products in Japan despite the availability of similar items at home? As one Chinese individual explains, “It’s because they want items that are made in Japan.” He adds, “There have actually been cases where people buy what they assume are Japanese products as presents for people at home but, when the recipients open them up, they’re disappointed to find them marked ‘Made in China,’ This would be funny if it weren’t so unfortunate. The highest-quality cameras and lenses are made in Japan, and people are willing to pay hundreds of thousands of yen for the items they want.”
Also, my posting does not tell people not to purchase this item. No one is stopping people from buying it. I am just stating consumer opinions. You can find similar opinions on the Amazon reviews. There is nothing wrong or subversive or unethical about this. If you don't agree with my posted opinion, fine. Just don't start ad hominem attacking me like a dirty censoring Trump supporter would. Because Glottis was reactionary and replied in an asshole way about it, I don't respect any of his opinions or believe in them. Which is my right and is fine with me. Just remember the Massdrop picture says Made in Japan on the product. If you get one made in China, I would question why. Because that would be "bait and switch" in my book.
blahhh
130
Jan 13, 2018
bsatowI think the simple answer is that you can't paint everything with the same brush. Historically, Japan was known for producing high quality electronics and other manufacturing. China was not. More recently, this oversimplification has become more and more murky - to the point were such a generalization probably isn't that useful or accurate.
A piece of anecdotal evidence of my own: In 2008, I purchased a Denon audio receiver. This was the last year that midrange Denon receivers were made in Japan. At that time, there was quite a consensus that the Denon receivers still made in the Japanese factory had somewhat better quality control (just taking off the cover and looking at things like solder points and glue applications, etc, corroborated this). But I would never use this isolated experience to judge all Japanese vs Chinese made items today.
That said, it wouldn't be all that surprising if a Japanese company such as this one, that made items in both Japan and China, might have a QC edge in the native country - if for no other reason than the man reason such a company would choose to extend manufacturing into China would be to cut costs. And cutting costs often comes with quality compromises. On the other hand, with an example like the iPhone, which is exclusively made in China (to high standards) there would be absolutely no reason, obviously, to suspect quality compromises.
bsatow
131
Jan 13, 2018
blahhhFinally, a good and rational answer. However, if most of the mainland Chinese people I work with is telling me that the Chinese will go to Japan to buy products made in Japan, even though the same product is made in China by the same Japanese company, this indicates something to me. When the Japanese start doing the reverse, then I can retract my statement.