He will bring them back, and sent me 1 package. He will also check whether the white AA's are still the ones Made in Japan.
That could definitely be the case in certain countries, at least it's not a positive sign when the move away from the Japan made ones to the China made ones.
News: the new IKEA loops are now 1900mAh, just like the eneloops, and still from Japan.
Specs show s 1000 cycle count, so that might be the cheapest Eneloop 1900mAh 1st gen version, just like the Fujitsu Blue
“1900mAh AA with up to 1000 cycle count” It is the same spec of crappy China-made AmazonBasics rechargeable AAs. Likely these 1900mAh LADDA AAs will be made in China instead of Japan.
You mean the first picture in your original post showing Made in Japan? If you look carefully that package says “AA HR6 1.2v 1000mAh” (mAh is not visible). It is not for the new 1900mAh LADDA I was talking about.
Also these Made in Japan brown 1000mAh AAs shown in your pictures have been replaced to Made in China ones many years ago. Seems these pictures in your original post were comparing Made in Japan and Made in China brown LADDA 1000mAh AAs. They have nothing to do with new 1900mAh LADDA AAs.
They are identified on the package label as made in Japan, but it’s not clear what to make of that. It could be:
1) Made by FDK, identical to Eneloops, but mandated by FDK to be sold with a lower cycle rating to preserve the value of the Eneloop brand name, or…
2) Made by FDK, but either to a lower quality spec, or binned to send batches that test lower quality to be badged for other brands, or…
3) Made by some other Japanese NiMH manufacturer we’re unaware of, or…
4) Fraudulently being labeled made in Japan (I think unlikely for a reputable store like Ikea, but it’s not entirely out of the question that they could get tricked by a supplier).
I think I answered those questions above. I've been following Eneloop for quite some time now ;)
3 and 4 are very unlikely to be true. 3: there is no other NiMH factory in Japan (and Panasonic employees confirmed this during a meeting I had with them at the Panasonic office in Brussels, in 2018)
1 don't know why you think this is. Although possible, from my understanding they are different lines in the same factory.
My reason: Fujitsu has been selling 1000 cycle batteries for a long time, which are equivalent to 1st gen Eneloops. You can't 'test' longevity without actually testing them, so having a specific factory line, is the most likely.