Okay, a little update:

First of all, from reading a bunch of forums, I understand a bit more. There seems to be two gens of this bass, 1980-1988/89, and a more modern one from 20....14? 15? Until like 2022 or 2023.

I've played a new one in a shop. I like it a lot more than the somewhat comparably priced Blade, and the cheaper Fender Standard Jazz Bass. It says made in Japan still, too.

There's also a 198...4 or 5, for sale (in white, which I love) online locally here. I am definitely considering that instead (a bit cheaper, but more of it is about having such a cool vintage bass)

Some threads had a bunch of info, including this one https://www.tokaiforum.com/threads/old-vs-new-tokai-jazz-sound.27921/

looks like there's a form for Tokai, find this thread for someone trying to identify their bass. While this post might not help for yours, you at least know there's people there who can.

https://www.tokaiforum.com/threads/early-80s-tokai-jazz-sound-year-model-identification.28111/

Tokai is a Japanese brand who makes guitars and basses both in Japan and abroad. The old ones are excellent, I dreamed of a white strat clone of theirs in a music store when I was a teenager.

Heard the newer ones are still pretty good, but I’ve never had my hands on one.