I want a rice cooker that is made in Japan. Which are they?
The phrase “Made in Japan” does not necessarily mean that every component within a product has been manufactured in Japan.
Modern electrical appliances are often made using components sourced from multiple countries. The final product may then be assembled and tested in a particular country, which determines the applicable country-of-origin designation.
For example, Zojirushi does not publicly provide a detailed breakdown of what percentage of the individual components used in each rice cooker are manufactured in Japan. What we can establish is the country in which the finished products are assembled.
We also know that the Zojirushi NL-AAQ10/18, which is assembled in Japan, shares components such as the inner lid and inner bowl with the NS-TSQ10/18, which is assembled in China. This demonstrates that Zojirushi, like many other manufacturers, uses components sourced from different locations across its product range.
Yum Asia Components
Our own Yum Asia rice cookers are assembled in China, but this does not mean that all of the components originate in China.
We source components and technologies internationally according to their suitability, performance and quality. For example, depending on the model, components can include:
Control panels sourced from Korea
Thermopolymer materials sourced from Germany
Induction coils sourced from Japan
Ceramic coating technology for the inner bowls sourced from Japan
The final assembly location is therefore only one part of the overall manufacturing process. Modern rice cookers are the result of components, materials and technologies sourced from specialist manufacturers in different countries.
Quality and Reliability
The quality of a rice cooker should not be judged solely by the country in which the final assembly takes place.
Both our Yum Asia products and the Zojirushi products we sell are manufactured under controlled quality assurance processes, with appropriate testing and inspection throughout production.
Based on our own historical service data, we have found that the Zojirushi rice cookers assembled in China and those assembled in Japan have comparable quality-control processes and fault rates.
For example, over an 18-month period we recorded approximately 26 faulty Zojirushi units, compared with just five faulty Yum Asia units, despite Yum Asia rice cooker sales during that period being more than 80 times higher than our Zojirushi rice cooker sales.
These figures are based on our own internal sales and service data and are provided to illustrate our experience rather than as a general industry-wide failure-rate comparison.
Zojirushi Models Assembled in Japan
The Zojirushi rice cooker models we currently identify as being assembled in Japan are:
NS-YSQ10/18
NL-AAQ10/18
NL-GAQ10/18
Ultimately, country of assembly should not be confused with the origin of every individual component. What matters when evaluating a rice cooker is the overall design, component quality, manufacturing standards, testing, quality control and the performance of the finished product.