Made in Japan was recorded live over three nights during 15–17 August 1972 at Festival Hall, Osaka and at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan. Four of the tracks come from the album Machine Head which had been released earlier that year. The album was at first seen as somewhat unimportant by the band members, and only Roger Glover and Ian Paice showed up to mix it. The release in the US was delayed, until April 1973, because Warner Bros. wanted to release Who Do We Think We Are first. The three concerts recorded were later released as Live in Japan 3-CD box set (1993). According to the liner notes for that set, unlike many live albums, there are no overdubs or studio additions to the original album.