Are Japanese Scopes Inferior? Pros and Cons

Putting a scope on your rifle can be a major investment in both performance and money. This raises the question of whether or not Japanese scopes are inferior to others because a scope’s quality is what you are paying for.

We are going to go over some of the facets of scope manufacturing and the pros and cons of Japanese scopes.

Difficulties of Scope Manufacture

Making glass has been a specialized task for hundreds of years with good manufacturers being in demand at any given time. This is increased when you add the complexity of making a lens out of glass.

Lenses have to be specially made for certain qualities, for example clarity, magnification, and scratch resistance. This is one of the reasons why corrective lenses are so expensive on their own since they have to be custom made for an individual.

For scopes, this is a multiplied issue since there are several lenses being used in addition to fine controls that allow you to move the reticle to adjust for elevation and windage, adjust for your eyesight, and even adjust for the distortion in the glass itself (parallax).

All of this combines into a very technical process. From assembling the housing for the lenses, purging the tubes, and making sure the lenses perform as desired there is a chance of throwing off the entire scope. This is why great scopes are made by specific companies and why they charge so much for the scope.

This brings us to Japanese scopes.

Japanese Scopes: Pros and Cons

Japanese optics are more prevalent than you think. Brands like Nikon and Canon have dominated the camera world and there is a similar trend in rifle scopes. The reality is that a number of your favorite brands get their lenses from Japanese sources and are technically resellers of those lenses.

But let’s get into the pros of Japanese scopes.

Pros

Clarity

Japanese glass can be very, very clear. Some brands like Zeiss, specifically use Japanese lenses to achieve their 90% light transmission rates. This leads to better target identification, less color loss, and an easier time hitting targets at distance.

Durability

Making glass durable is another hard task that Japanese scopes have refined, this comes from the lenses’ own durability and the effort put into assembling the scope. This comes down to the tolerances of manufacturing and the materials used in the construction of the rest of the scope.

High performing

Japanese scopes are known for their high performance, even if they are not known as Japanese scopes. The Nightforce SHV is a perfect example for this. Nightforce is known for being a top pick for military and law enforcement applications where equipment is expected to perform whenever and wherever it is needed.

Cons

Price

The major drawback of Japanese scopes is price. You are going to be spending a lot to get the quality you want and need in a scope. This comes from the cost of materials and the labor that goes into making the items. But this is part of the “buy once, cry once” method of gear selection. 

Specifications

Now just because scopes or lenses are made in Japan, does not necessarily mean they are all made to the same specifications. You might stumble across a scope that uses Japanese glass or a scope that uses that glass at a lower price point, this does not mean they are the exact same level of quality.

On average Japanese glass is better than most of the other options at that price point. You might purchase a budget Japanese scope and experience budget performance instead of top tier performance. Knowing that before you make the purchase can be the difference between a great optic and a disappointing one.

Conclusion

If you are in the market for a top tier scope and willing to pay top tier prices, you are going to be looking at Japanese scopes or ones with Japanese glass in them. That is just how the current market is. At this level you are more focused on performance than the country of origin for your scope.

We offer a number of scopes that feature Japanese glass with our primary options being Zeiss and Nightforce. Check out what we have available while supplies last.