What's in a label? Chinese firms try to cover origins of clothing in Japan

Japan's consumer watchdog has said it is powerless to stop Chinese firms stitching labels that read "Made in PRC" in clothing bound for the Japanese market, even though many local consumers do not understand that the acronym means the product was made in China.

Many products that originate in the Peoples' Republic of China do not have the best of reputations in a country that expects a high degree of quality, but where consumers are increasingly looking to pay less.

Ill-feelings towards Japan's near neighbour and regional economic rival have been heightened by rows over the sovereignty of islands in the East China Sea and different perceptions of the two nations' shared history.

A study in October by Genron, a Tokyo-based nonprofit organisation, indicated that a record 93 per cent of Japanese have a negative impression of China, up from 90 per cent one year earlier.

Chinese clothing firms have apparently realised that identifying the source of their products is harming sales in Japan.

A spokesman for The Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan was unable to answer questions from The South China Morning Post, but the agency previously told the Sankei Shimbun newspaper that there are no rules that forbid Chinese clothing firms from using labels marked "Made in PRC."