Bollocks, they are made in Japan. The cheaper end ESPs, like Grassroots, are made in China. Sorry dude, but your wrong. Go ahead and tell yourself they are Japanese guitars, but you'll just be lying to yourself. The Japanese are very proud of products made in Japan, and always have the "Made in Japan" stamped or stickered somewhere on the guitar. My Yokoyama Ken Signature Edwards came with plastic and stickers all over it. None of it said "Made in Japan" anywhere. The small stack of papers and the brochures that came with it were also devoid of the "Made in Japan" anywhere on it. Pretty weird that not one single Edwards comes stamped with a MIJ sticker anywhere on it dont you think? Anyway like I said the guitars are Chinese, then shipped back to Japan for finishing and final setup. The hardware used is top notch stuff, and the guitars are the same for the most part as the higher end LTD stuff.