The Japanese toy market exceeded trillion yen ($7 billion) for the first time in the year ending March 2023, driven in part by strong demand for Japanese anime character products such as “Pokemon” from foreign tourists, an industry body said on Thursday. according to Kyodo News.
Sales of card games, plush toys, model vehicles and other types of toys amounted to 952.5 billion yen, up 6.7% from the previous year, according to the Japan Toy Association.
Sales of “capsule toys,” or miniature toys sold in plastic capsules in vending machines, rose 35.6 percent to 61 billion yen.
Sales growth was also led by adult toys, such as model trains, offsetting the negative effect of Japan’s aging population.
Led by Pokemon cards or the anime “One Piece”, sales of game cards and collectibles totaled 234.9 billion yen, up 32.2%.
Overseas tourists were also drawn to the Pokemon figurines and plush toys.
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“We don’t have definitive data on foreign tourists, but the sales plants tell us that they are doing well,” says Daisuke Fujii, head of the association.
Sales of card games, plush toys, model vehicles and other types of toys amounted to 952.5 billion yen, up 6.7% from the previous year, according to the Japan Toy Association.
“In addition to merchandise featuring popular anime or cartoon characters, capsule toys are attracting demand for gifts,” Fujii said.
Billian Wilder, a 12-year-old American, was among foreign visitors looking at capsule toy dispensers in the Tokyo station terminal as she considered her options.
Her mother, Elyzabeth, 46, told Kyodo News that her daughter had been obsessed with miniature toys since her last visit to Japan three years ago.
