Japanese pressings
Japanese city pop originals
and what they're worth.
In Japan these were ordinary new releases: Tatsuro Yamashita, Mariya Takeuchi, Taeko Ohnuki, Anri, Junko Ohashi, sold in local record shops between 1977 and 1984. Today far more collectors want them than own them. On Discogs, Ohnuki's 1977 Sunshower has 579 owners and 3,819 people waiting for a copy. Here is what the originals sell for and how to tell one from a reissue.
01
What the originals sell for
Japanese first pressings, with recent Discogs medians. Copies with the obi strip and inserts sell toward the top.
| Album (year) | Label / catalog | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Junko Ohashi, Magical (1984) | Philips 28PL-79 | $330 |
| Taeko Ohnuki, Sunshower (1977) | Panam GW-4029 | $156 |
| Mariya Takeuchi, Variety (1984) | Moon MOON-28018 | $76 |
| Anri, Timely!! (1983) | For Life 28K-63 | $65–79 |
| Tatsuro Yamashita, For You (1982) | Air RAL-8801 | $55 |
Source: Discogs release-page sales statistics, October 2026.
White label promos run higher still. The Sunshower promo has a $300 median. For the Ohashi record, see our Magical value guide.
02
Reading the catalog number
The catalog number is printed on the spine, the back cover, the label and the obi. It is the fastest way to separate an original from a reissue, because reissues get new numbers.
Some Japanese labels of the era built the price into the number. On For Life's 28K series the 28 matches the ¥2,800 list price printed on the obi, so Anri's Timely!! is 28K-63.
Then compare the number with the reissues:
- Sunshower: GW-4029 (1977), GW-4107 (1984 reissue), then CRJ- numbers on every reissue from 2014 on
- For You: RAL-8801 (1982), BVJL 90 (2023 reissue)
- Variety: MOON-28018 (1984), WPJL-10153 (2021 reissue)
- Magical: 28PL-79 (1984, one LP), PROT- numbers on the two-LP reissues from 2022 on
03
The obi strip, and when it matters
The obi is the paper band wrapped around the side of a Japanese LP. It gives the title in Japanese, the price, the catalog number and often a line of sales copy. Some first owners threw it away, so a copy that still has it is harder to find.
Check what the record came with. Sunshower and Variety shipped with an obi. The first 50,000 copies of Timely!! had an obi that mentions an eight-page “Anri Fashion Calendar '84” tucked inside; those copies have a $79 median against $65 for later ones. For You had no obi at all, so don't pay extra for one that claims to.
The price line dates the obi. Japan introduced a 3% consumption tax in April 1989. Obis printed after that show tax notation, and later ones add a barcode. A single plain yen price fits an original from the 1970s or 1980s.
04
Reissues, promos and counterfeits
Reissues are not always cheap. The 2023 For You (BVJL 90) sells for about $36, and the 2024 two-LP Magical for about $64. But the 2021 Record Day Variety (WPJL-10153) has a $95 median, higher than the 1984 original. Price a reissue as its own record.
Counterfeits copy the catalog number. An unofficial For You carries the original RAL-8801 number and sells for about $50. Discogs lists the tells: a wider runout area, hand-etched runout lettering, a “24M” mark in the runout, pixelated colors on the cover, and copies that look brand new. Genuine 1982 copies were pressed by JVC on its SuperVinyl compound, which looks translucent brown when held to a light.
05
Checking a Japanese LP you own
Read the catalog number, look for the obi and inserts, and check the runout. Then photograph it. Crown Vinyl identifies the pressing from the barcode or photos of the sleeve, grades condition from photos on the Goldmine scale, and estimates value from recent real sales.
A few questions
The ones that come up.
Usually, yes, when the original came with one. Some first owners discarded the obi, so complete copies are harder to find and sell higher. Check first: Tatsuro Yamashita's For You (RAL-8801) never had an obi, so its absence costs nothing.
Start with the catalog number and compare it to the first issue on Discogs; reissues get new numbers, such as CRJ- for later Sunshower pressings or BVJL 90 for the 2023 For You. Then read the obi price: a plain yen price with no tax notation fits a pre-1989 copy. Finally, match the runout to the original.
It sells for about $36 on Discogs, with a high near $55. The 1982 original on Air RAL-8801 has a median around $55, and a promo copy in its promotional bag has sold for $130 to $140.
Demand outruns supply. Her 1977 album Sunshower (Panam GW-4029) has 579 owners and 3,819 wants on Discogs, and a median sale of $156. The white label promo has a $300 median.
Obi or no obi
Photograph the sleeve.
Know which pressing it is.
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