Dear team,
Thank you for your feedback. I know the Nihon Seiko units you refer to, they are an excellent telescope. They are indeed Japanese.
This telescope is not a Nihon Seiko unit, it is a USA Astro Physics unit. It was one of Roland's personal collection until it was pried from his hands by the collector that I bought it from. He only got it as he is a major collector (2nd largest telescope collection globally) and knows Roland. I got it from him in a swap (part of the costs for a telescope I was making for him, with another [larger] scope) for a hand crafted refractor that I made for him.
The Japanese AP units were excellent, but this unit is not one of them, this is a Yankee
May I suggest this unit is a better telescope (with the most upmost respect for the excellent Nihon's).
Trust this assists.
Rgds,
Cris,
Astromelb.