Nikon Builds Nearly All Its Cameras Outside Japan — Here's the Full Map

Nikon stopped manufacturing cameras in Japan in 2020 as a cost-cutting measure, and an updated list of production locations for its mirrorless bodies and Z-mount glass confirms how far the shift has gone. Every Nikon mirrorless camera, including the flagship Z9 and the new Z5II, now comes out of Thailand. Japan builds only the top tier of the company's optics.

The breakdown, assembled by Nikon Rumors, gives working photographers a concrete answer to a question most never ask: where was my kit actually made? Nikon's production now sits in four countries — Japan, Thailand, China and Vietnam — with Thailand carrying the bulk of both bodies and lenses.

What does this change for a working photographer's gear decisions?

Honestly, very little. Manufacturing quality has converged to the point where origin rarely predicts performance. Some Nikon Z6 and Z7 bodies were made in Japan, and as the source notes, "I doubt anyone can tell the difference." A Thailand-built Z8 or a China-built Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR performs to the same spec as anything from Sendai. Buy on optical and operational merit, not the stamp on the barrel.

Which lenses still come from Japan?

Japanese production is reserved for Nikon's most expensive glass:

• Nikon Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct
• Nikon Z 120-300mm f/2.8 TC VR S (newly launched)
• Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and its Mark II successor
• Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S
• Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S
• Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S

That's the pattern: Japan makes the halo products, the ones where the "Made in Japan" line carries marketing weight with buyers spending four to five figures.

Where's the rest of the range made?

Here the map gets uneven. Not all of the 'holy trinity' (the f/2.8 zoom trio covering wide to telephoto) is Japanese — the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S and Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S are both Thai-built, and the new Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II, though not yet on the list, is reportedly made in Thailand as well. The Nikon Z DX MC 35mm f/1.7 comes from Vietnam. Every other Z lens splits between China and Thailand.

Nikon isn't an outlier. Except for Sigma, every major Japanese manufacturer — Canon, Fujifilm, Sony, Panasonic, OM System and Ricoh — produces at least part of its range outside Japan, with plants in Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan and China. The offshoring wave is industry-wide, driven by the same labor-cost logic that pulled Nikon out of domestic camera assembly five years ago.

There is, of course, a residual premium on Japanese origin — resale buyers and collectors still notice it. But as the source author admits, his favorite lens is the China-made Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR and his favorite body the Thailand-built Z8. Country of origin is a romance, not a spec sheet.

Expect the map to keep tilting: as Nikon refreshes the Z lineup through 2025 and beyond, Japan will likely remain the exception — reserved for the Noct-class optics — while Thailand and China absorb everything else.