[jshepherd]

When making a purchase decision this is definitely a question that will come up when selecting Akoya pearls. But to make that choice easier we should look at the facts:
Chinese Akoya pearls are cultured in the Pinctada Fucata Oyster - just as the Japanese.
Chinese pearl farmers use nucleation beads sourced from mollusks from the Mississippi River Delta - Just as the Japanese.
So what it comes down to is that for all purposes they are basically the exact same thing. Why then, such a difference in price?
The Japanese pearl companies carry an extreme amount of overhead. The cost of labor is very high, as is the cost of land and supplies. A Chinese pearl farmer, on the other hand, can set up an Akoya pearl farm for as little as $10,000 US.
Because of this the Japanese pearl market has been in a steady decline for many years. Less than a decade ago the Japanese still had a strong hold, as their Chinese counterparts were not able to produce quality similar to that of the Japanese. In the past 4-5 years, however, this has all changed. The Chinese are now producing Akoya pearls that easily rival those of the Japanese in sizes ranging up to 7.5mm. Larger sizes are produced, but have not yet been produced in high quantity or quality. These larger sizes are the only things keeping the Japanese pearl farming economy alive today.

A small known fact, as reported in the Pearl World International Pearling Journal 1st quarter edition, is that if you are buying a 'Japanese' strand, most likely the majority of the strand was cultured in China.
Today, Japan is the leading importer of Chinese cultured Akoya pearls. Many of these Japanese companies own factories and farms in China as well - I have personally visited several. The pearls are harvested, temporarily strung, and imported to Japan, where they are further processed and then tagged 'MADE IN JAPAN'.
An editor reported in the same Pearl World Edition that pearls available from Japanese companies at the Tucson Trade Show were, on average, nearly 80% comprised of Chinese pearls.

So does it matter where the pearls were produced? Ask me 7-8 years ago I would say absolutely it does. But does it today? Absolutely not! Unless you are looking for quality Akoya pearls 8mm-10mm in size chances are some if not all the pearls in the Japanese strand of your choice will be Chinese.

I personally source all of our pearls smaller than 8mm in China. I also have very close relationships with Japanese suppliers located in Japan. They import their smaller pearls from the same Chinese farms I do! I purchase their pearls, however, 8mm and larger - these have been cultured in Japan.