Cutesy toys are going gangbusters among Japanese adults.
Some 1,400 capsule toy stores, which sell trinkets dispensed from coin-operated machines, now exist in Japan, with many taking over retail space deserted during the pandemic.
The popularity of the toys, known as gacha gacha, comes as Japan’s population rapidly ages — the number of children has hit a fresh low. “In the past, life was simpler,” one industry player told the Financial Times. “There was a strong societal expectation that you’d be married and have children at a certain age.”
But the “kidult” trend extends beyond Japan. In China, “blind boxes,” in which a buyer doesn’t know what exactly they’re purchasing, have been a consumer craze for years.