Panasonic produce in many Asian countries though, not just China and there are several premium brands who do likewise. Again it is the brand who concentrate on what they want to produce rather than what they need to produce and dependent on the company ethic, quality sometimes gets the top spot instead of quantity, though in terms of vacuums, Panasonic in the UK certainly took their time about it to get a new bagged upright out alongside their current series that has been going on for more than 10 years.
Geographically though Japan is smaller than China and the Yen has a much stronger force than the Chinese currency, there are only so many factories that Japan can have. Parts in China are cheaper to source, so go and figure there.
