Panasonic is also going down in reliability. You can read in this forum and foreign on reliability issues of Panny TVs.
Even my friends Kuro 508XG (made in Japon) rosak after 18 months of use. Luckily under warranty but still, reliability is a question mark. To, me if you like the TV, as long as it's of a reputable brand, just jump and enjoy. Some more, Samsung might give you more value in terms of features and price. Heck, I think the PQ is even better than Panasonic