Anyone that knows a thing or two about Stratocasters should know about the famous Japanese series of Fender guitars. Perhaps the younger generation will not have come across these as they will be more acquainted with the Made in Mexico range of instruments that followed the discontinuation of the Japanese line.

History

The story of Fender Japan starts in 1982 when FujiGen Gakki were chosen to manufacture Fender guitars for domestic sale in Japan. When it came to inspecting the Japanese manufactured Fenders, Dan Smith, Director of Marketing at the time is attributed with saying: “Everybody came up to inspect them and the guys almost cried, because the Japanese product was so good – it was what we had been having a hell of a time trying to do.”

CBS, the company that owned Fender at the time was losing market share due to falling standards in their Made in America instruments and in 1984 sold Fender to Bill Schultz who had been president of Fender under CBS. However, this buyout did not include production facilities and so for much of 1985 no USA models were manufactured.

This led to the import of Japanese Fender models, which accounts for up to 80% of Fender sales in the USA around this time.

Made in Japan (MIJ)

Commonly referred to as FujiGen era instruments, these models were manufactured between 1982 and 1997 carry the “Made in Japan” stamp.

The earliest Japanese models made from 1982 onwards, which include the series JV, SQ and some of the E series were made to a very high specification utilizing USA Electronics and Alder bodies. These have been considered to be better than USA quality Fenders.

The later models utilized basswood and Japanese electronics, which have also been favourably reviewed, but are generally considered to be a little below the quality of the USA made parts. However, these models are considered to be far above the quality of their Made in Mexico counterparts.

Crafted in Japan (CIJ)

After around 1992, an expansion of production and the requirement to produce other guitars at the FujiGen factory led to alternative subcontractors being employed in the process of manufacturing Fender guitars.

There had been an arrangement between Fender USA and Fender Japan that if the manufacturing were to move out of FujiGen then the “Made in Japan” stamp would be changed to “Crafted in Japan”.

“I was told by a former Fender Rep that the necks were made one place and the bodies another, while the electronics were made in yet another. I was told that the contract with Yamoto stated if any major subcontractor was to be changed the weaning process would have to take place (MIJ to CIJ). They call it the “Squire countdown.” ” – http://xhefriguitars.com/

As I understand it this would be to move away from Made in Japan imports and help to differentiate between the USA made Fenders and the Japanese counterparts and also because the Mexican factory was just firing up which would bear the stamp “Made in Mexico”.

MIJ vs CIJ

There is a lot of speculation on this area and I would not like to say whether MIJ or CIJ are better. I have seen a lot of experts profess that there is no real difference in the quality of the MIJ or CIJ guitars, however I have also heard people say that the MIJ models are better because the manufacturing in the FujiGen factory was better.

But that sounds a bit wooly to me. Most likely people think that MIJ guitars are better because the earliest FujiGen era Fenders were a higher spec (USA electronics and Alder bodies). Nonetheless, Made in Japan guitars from 1986 onwards as far as I know are the same specification as the Crafted in Japan guitars.

I do think that the MIJ guitars have a greater legacy than the later CIJ ones. If nothing else I prefer the MIJ guitars simply for being MIJ guitars.

Note: There is some overlap between MIJ and CIJ between 1992 and 1997 so be aware of this when dating your instrument. Use the serial number coupled with the Made in Japan / Crafted in Japan stamp.

Highest Quality Fender Japan Models

JV, SQ and E-series

As mentioned in the prior section, the earliest Japanese models made from 1982 onwards, which include the series JV, SQ and some of the E-series were made to a higher specification – using USA Electronics and Alder bodies in many cases. These are the most sought after models from the entire Fender Japan era.

Domestic vs Import

I don’t understand this part that well, but a further complication is that the guitars that Fender Japan made for their home market are sometimes a higher quality than those models made for export.

From what I know, export/import guitars (sometimes easily distinguished by an EX stamped somewhere inside the instrument) were made with a Poly finish and Japanese electronics. There exist domestic designs that have a Nitro finish and USA electronics.

Special High Quality Fender Japan Designs

EXTRAD – Custom Made

Custom Shop

Limited Edition

If you own a MIJ/CIJ guitar and want to check the serial number you can do so on the official Fender page at: http://www.fender.com/en-GB/support/articles/japanese-instruments-product-dating/

Hopefully this answers any questions that you might have about the Fender Japan guitars.