@judgedread

> There was a brief period after WWII when Japan was in ruins and they manufactured extremely cheap products made from literal scrap metal.

Ah, I didn't know about this. I guess if you have a lot of wartime factories but no longer have control over all of the mines in Manchuria, this kind of thing is a likely result.

> My Sony TVs were so much better than the US competition it wasn't even a contest.

Yeah, they're still coveted; I remember how jazzed people were about the Trinitron. Yaesu is still practically synonymous with radio gear.