The Plastics was an electronic pop group based in Tokyo, Japan and contemporaries of Yellow Magic Orchestra during the late 70’s and early 80’s. The band featured Chica Sato on vocals, Toshio Nakanishi on guitar and percussion, Hajime Tachibana on guitar, Masahide Sakuma on keyboard and guitar and Takemi Shima on rhythm box.

The group was quite fashion oriented, and had something of a performance art style to them. Their first single “Copy/Robot” (1979) used a spelling machine toy and was released internationally by Rough Trade. Their first albums Welcome Plastics and Origato Plastico were machine driven, quirky and humorous, and drew comparisons to the B-52’s. Songs from the first two albums were re-recorded with improved sound in 1981 and released in the US as Plastics (and as Welcome Back in Japan).

The band toured in the United States and Europe, and while they drew a certain amount of interest, were not able to make a major impact. Perhaps as a result, the band broke up at the end of the tour.