Oh Christ! That’s me.
Genuinely curious. Why are Japanese pressings perceived to be better? Do they have better mastering engineers and QA processes etc?
Absolutely no idea, but I found this
'Good sound quality.
There are many factors that determine how a record will sound, including the quality of the master tapes used, how the record was mastered, and what kind of vinyl was used to press the records. Japanese records are often revered for their high quality sound.
American record companies that pressed records in the millions in the 1970s and early 1980s often used inexpensive or recycled vinyl to press their records, resulting in poor sound or excessive surface noise.
They would also press a high number of records from a single stamper, with each record pressed sounding worse than the one made just before it.
Most Japanese records were pressed using high quality “virgin” vinyl that was manufactured exclusively for pressing records. These records are often extraordinarily quiet and have little or no surface noise, allowing the listener a better listening experience.
In addition, English-language music titles were usually pressed in fairly small quantities in Japan, meaning all of the discs were likely pressed while the stampers were still fairly new.
For many years, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, an American company known for their high-quality audiophile pressings, contracted the pressing of their records to JVC in Japan, as JVC had invented an exceptionally durable and quiet vinyl compound known as “Super Vinyl” that was unavailable anywhere else.’
That’ll do me!
orders Jap pressing of Remain In Light
My Japanese 128 mp3s are out of this world!!! 
With Obi strip? 
I don’t get those at all!
Also, clear/coloured vinyl. Is it just me or does it always sound like utter garbage?
they play havoc with my NAS drive though!
I always find they are for collectors and not people that actually play their records.
And me… The V word 
Probably in the Japanese listening bars nobody is talking lol not like the ones here…
We have a Dentist here called John Hackett.