Obscure Alternatives is the second studio album by English new wave band Japan, released in October 1978 by record label Hansa.

The band's response was to record Obscure Alternatives in 10 days, most definitely a rock album, but one with a twist, as Japan gained the courage to assert themselves as artists and individuals.

The first half featured material that was mostly part of the group's live show including "Love is Infectious" which was written prior to their debut album.

[6][citation needed] Trouser Press wrote that the album "adds more keyboards but still relies on Rob Dean's buzzing guitars and David Sylvian's sneery vocals for its sound".

The title track is described as "wonderfully atmospheric and slightly menacing", while "Love Is Infectious" "put the band completely into discordant post-punk art house-dom".

As with the first album, Obscure Alternatives was commercially unsuccessful in the UK, but garnered moderate success in Japan, where it peaked just outside the Top 20.

It became Japan's first European hit single, and the re-recorded version of "Adolescent Sex" is featured on the 1981 compilation album Assemblage.