To counter the social thread and because they are on totp82 a lot at the moment and because they are bloody brilliant.
One of two bands (along with The Human League) that my older sister and I both liked when we were teenagers.
I met the 17 year old son of a friend during the summer and he’d never heard of them before, weird, I thought they might be as well known as other bands of that era that he was aware of. He thought Dave Sylvian sounded like Mozza. 
Mick Karn is the best bassist ever.
Also great at sax not dominating the song, Quiet Life is awash with Sax but it’s never in your face.
Early stuff is so completely different to the later disco and art pop phases.
Has any other bsnd named after a country named a song after another country? (‘Rhodesia’)
I could go on, but I’ve already gone on. Japan, hell yeah.
They were fucking brilliant weren’t they. Their later stuff is totally unique and a big influence on the likes of Talk Talk & Blue Nile. Just imagine getting a song like ‘Ghosts’ in the top 10. Sylvian’s solo stuff is well worth investigating too.