For the record, we are talking about Japan here. Unlike China, where the name of the game is cost cutting by exploiting a workforce that is suffering under extreme totalitarianism, Japan is an advanced, democratic, 1st world nation, that competes mainly on quality, not price. I seriously doubt Rivendell saves any money by having the frames made in Japan compared with having them done by someone here in the USA (after all, the cost of living is higher in Japan than here and thus the labor rates paid to frame builders are most likely even higher there, then factor in the extra transportation costs and its even worse).
Of course I'd still rather have all the money trading hands stay in my local economy instead of some going overseas. But if it is going somewhere else, at least it is going to an acceptable nation like Japan (I feel the same about 1st world European made goods) instead of somewhere like China.