Are Japanese Pokémon cards worth less than English ones?

A Japanese and an English card of the same Pokémon are different products, each with its own market. All amounts below are converted to euros (PriceCharting, 13 November 2026).

Two examples

• Umbreon ex SAR: Japanese (Terastal Festival ex, #217) about €240, English (Prismatic Evolutions, #161) about €880. In PSA 10: about €360 versus €3,570.
• Charizard ex SAR: Japanese (Pokémon 151, #201) about €275, English (151, #199) about €255. In PSA 10: about €425 versus €1,030.

Why English is often pricier

• The biggest collector market, in the US and Europe, mainly wants English cards. The market for graded cards is also largest there.
• Japanese boxes have more guaranteed hits per box, so chase cards are easier to find.
• Japanese cards are generally cut more precisely. A PSA 10 is therefore less rare and earns a smaller premium.

When Japanese is worth more

For cards that only exist in Japanese, for much vintage, and for some popular cards such as Charizard from 151. So compare per card, not per language. Ungraded prices are often closer together than PSA 10 prices.

At Kaikan

We sell Japanese boxes to open and collect, not as an investment. Our card pages show the dated value and the odds per box for each Japanese chase card, for example Umbreon ex SAR.