Tokai guitars? (And Japanese models in general)

So I've been looking at getting a LP Special recently. I love the P90 and really drawn to the TV yellow of the Special. I'd pretty much written off Gibson due to the exorbitant prices though, and it's not like I'm playing professionally. Heard generally good things about the recent Epiphone though.

But stumbling around on eBay, I noticed a lot of listings from acouple Japanese shops selling Tokais. I'd heard good things but didn't really think too deeply because of shipping to Canada. It's certainly more than the Epiphone, but the way people talk about Tokais make them sound like they're rivaling Gibson quality.

In the same vein, I'd seen Epiphone LP Specials from the same Japanese sellers in colour variants I haven't seen available here, and that also look really slick.

General thoughts on the Japanese models, especially with the Tokais? I know they're also manufacturing in China and Korea, but haven't heard any real detracting statements about the final quality. Everything I'd read is still quite glowing.