As an alternative to the German portable receivers from Grundig and Nordmende, and to the American Zenith receivers, quite a number of sets from Japanese manufacturers came on the market in the 1970s, some carried exotic brand names. They were often characterised by a multitude of features and chrome-flashed controls, but also by weak workmanship and by omitting essential but expensive components (linear VFO, digital frequency display, high-quality filters) for price reasons, often leading to weak reception results.

Only these sets, some of which with exotic brand names, are listed here; the sets of the high quality Japanese brand manufacturers Sony and Panasonic can be found in the corresponding articles.