Japanese toy market continues to boom despite declining birthrate

Yesterday, on the 27th, the Japan Toy Association reported that the Japanese toy market size exceeded 1 trillion yen for the first time last year. More significantly, the toy market for the 2023 fiscal year grew 7 percent from the previous year, setting a new record of just above 1 trillion yen. 

Toy sales in Japan have been on the rise for consecutive years since 2019 despite declining birth rates. 

The main contribution to this increase was due to the market for card games and trading cards, which accounts for 27.2 percent of the overall market at a total of 277.4 billion yen. Additionally, the hobby market also recorded strong increases in sales of plastic models and figures, followed by that of stuffed animals. 

It is of note that products that witnessed a strong increase in sales in the fiscal year 2023, including the aforementioned card games, trading cards, figurines, and stuffed animals, are popular among tourists and the “kidult” demographic. “Kidult” is a term used to refer to adults who are children at heart and thus have an interest in products and services for children. This trend is seen as the major factor as to why the toy market in Japan has continued to flourish despite a declining birthrate.

Source: Oricon News