Sanken and Sony have produced world-class condenser microphones, and in fact still do (although Sony has been backing out of the pro audio business for a long time now, and only has two studio microphone models left--but there are vintage Sony condensers that sound wonderful; they've been at this for decades and it's a shame what has happened to them). Some rather high-quality ribbon microphones have also been made in Japan over the years. Some names you might know (Fostex, for example); others, you might not.
But when it comes to hypercardioid microphones (or microphones that are called "hypercardioid" even though they don't have that specific pickup pattern), you are mainly talking about microphones designed for speech pickup with maximum intelligibility, for newsgathering, communications, film and video sound, voiceover work, etc.--in other words, microphones with rolled-off low-frequency response and elevated and/or peaky treble response. Probably 9 out of 10 "hypercardioid" condenser microphones fit that description, and for "hypercardioid" condenser microphones made in Asia, I'd have to say that it's closer to 10 out of 10.
There is no geographical or (God forbid) racial reason for this; it's just market economics. High-volume producers must aim for the largest possible markets. There is no other way they can stay in business. As a result, the highly directional (super- or hypercardioid or even shotgun) microphones that are generally found suitable for high-quality music recording come from the few companies that pursue this market specifically. That brings you back to the names you know already--and most of them aren't in Japan or anywhere else in Asia.
Sanken has some technically advanced shotgun microphones, including stereo models. Audio-Technica, you seem to know about already. Both companies would have the full technical ability to create good-sounding, highly directional microphones for music recording--but the question is, where do they perceive the market to be? Because that's who they're building microphones for--and that in turn determines the characteristics of the microphones they build. Judging by their products, I'd say they're aiming mainly at newsgathering, sound for film and video, and similar applications.
So even these highly respected companies may not offer anything that you or I would really want--not because they can't, but because there aren't enough of us compared to the other kinds of customers they serve.
--best regards
Topic: Japanese microphone manufacturers? (Read 11640 times)