We’ve been involved in the massage chair industry for years, and most of the time it was always believed that Japanese-made massage chairs are the best quality massage chairs around. After all, Japan is where the massage chair was born, where they were invented, and where they have been produced for more than 50 years. Only recently in the grand scheme of things has the manufacturing of massage chairs been moved to China because of lower production costs.
Nowadays, the vast majority of massage chairs are being manufactured in mainland China though Japanese massage chairs are still regularly produced. Japanese chairs tend to have failure rates of about 1% and will last you about 15 years.
Usually, Chinese chairs have a higher failure rate, some putting that rate from 2 to 5% and will only offer you about 10 years of life.
For this reason, it can be more beneficial to purchase a Japanese-made chair, however, there are also American-made chairs to consider.
The Luraco American-made chairs are hugely popular and the i7 PLUS has won several awards for its engineering and design, including the most recent 2019 Top Medical Massage Chair Award from Aesthetic Everything.
Most people when deciding on which chair to buy, want to get the best quality they can afford. This is really going to depend on the chair itself and the individual brand, such as Osaki and Human Touch. Osaki is a great Chinese brand, along with Titan, and Human Touch runs right here in the US.
Whatever your budget and needs, it will be beneficial for you to know what type of chair you are in the market for so that you can determine the perfect balance between cost, value, and quality.