Takara Tomy's honorary chairman on the company's best-selling miniature toy cars, Japan's culture of play, and its efforts to give back to the community.
Takara Tomy Chairman Kantaro Tomiyama introduces SORA-Q, a tiny transforming lunar robot jointly developed with JAXA and other partners that successfully landed on the Moon, in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, on October 1. (©Sankei/Shuntaro Suzuki)
Takara Tomy has created many classic toys that countless Japanese people have played with at some point in their lives, including Tomica die-cast vehicles, Plarail toy trains and plastic tracks, and Licca-chan fashion dolls.
The company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024. Chairman Kantaro Tomiyama, 72, describes toys as "important tools for creating the memories and experiences that stay in children's hearts as they grow up."
A Childhood Without Toys
Tomiyama was born and raised in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward, the son of Masanari, the company's second-generation president. Although he grew up in a family that ran a toy company, he wasn't allowed to play with toys as a child. His father would simply tell him to study instead.
Even so, he looks back on those years with a smile. "I loved building plastic models. Tamiya and Hasegawa kits of fighter planes and tanks were popular back then, and I'd secretly build them and hide them in the drawer under my bed so no one would find them."
After graduating from the University of Hull in the United Kingdom, he joined Tomy Kogyo, then the company's manufacturing division, at the age of 28. He worked in manufacturing, product development, sales, and other areas before becoming president of Tomy's sales division in 1989.
Japan's Culture of Play
After 44 years in the toy industry, Tomiyama believes that Japan's culture of play is rooted in popular culture.
"In Europe and America, play grew out of aristocratic culture, whereas in Japan, it came from the common people, as you can see in the ukiyo-e prints of Utagawa Hiroshige and in kabuki theater."
He believes this playful, creative spirit has become a strength of Japanese anime, manga, and, ultimately, Japanese manufacturing.
Takara Tomy has drawn on this traditional Japanese spirit of play to create many hit products, but its biggest success is undoubtedly Tomica.
Before Tomica was introduced, most miniature cars were modeled on foreign vehicles. Japanese cars had a reputation for being unreliable and poorly made, so they were rarely reproduced as toys.
Around 1960, however, Japan's rapid economic growth sparked a boom in car ownership, and expressways began opening one after another. Riding this wave of motorization, Tomiyama's father, Masanari, came up with an idea: "I want Japanese children to play with miniature cars modeled on the Japanese vehicles they see every day."
The company developed the toys in cooperation with automakers. Each car was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, yet carefully crafted to faithfully reproduce the real vehicle.
Tomica officially launched in 1970. Loved by children and adults alike, Tomica has sold more than one billion units worldwide. Its cumulative lineup includes more than 10,000 vehicle models released in Japan and overseas.
In 2025, to mark Tomica's 55th anniversary, the company teamed up with five major Japanese automakers to produce limited-edition Tomica cars. Designers from each manufacturer created special commemorative designs for popular Tomica models.
After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Tomiyama visited evacuation shelters to deliver toys. When the children saw them, they cried out, "Wow! Toys!" and their faces lit up. Their parents smiled, too, as they watched.
"Children's smiles are wonderful. Toys remind us of that," Tomiyama says.
His desire to create play experiences that remain in people's memories has also led him to spend many years developing and promoting kyoyu gangu ("inclusive toys"), which enable people with visual impairments, hearing impairments, and other disabilities to enjoy playing alongside others. In recognition of this work, he received a Prime Minister's Award in December 2019.
Giving Back to Katsushika
Speaking about his hometown, Tomiyama says, "I love the downtown atmosphere, where you can live without worrying too much about appearances or formalities."
Even after the company grew into a major corporation, he chose to keep it in Tateishi because he wanted to "give something back to the local community."
Carrying on the tradition of community service established by earlier generations, Tomiyama continues to bring smiles and create lasting memories for the children of Katsushika Ward in the Reiwa era.
About Takara Tomy
Takara Tomy was formed in 2006 through the merger of two major toy companies: Takara, headquartered in Aoto, Katsushika Ward, and Tomy, headquartered in Tateishi, in the same ward. In 2017, the company signed an agreement with Katsushika Ward, which promotes itself as a "town of toys," to collaborate on revitalizing the local community.
(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: Shuntaro Suzuki, The Sankei Shimbun