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These hi-tech toys mean big business

June 30, 2008

World's smallest karoke

'Toys for elders' seems to be the mantra for Japanese toy companies.

Functional and innovative, these toys can help beat stress and even loneliness! The Japanese toy industry has found a new clientele for its products in adults and old people.

The International Tokyo Toy Show organised from June 19-22 attracted a lot of attention for its unique and hi-tech toys. The world's smallest personal karoke, to a pedimeter that measures how much money you can save by walking, to dancing flowers and swaying plastic plants made the International Tokyo Toy Show 2008 a memorable experince.

After lagging sales, the Japanese toy industry registered a slightly higher growth of 670.9 billion yen ($6.2 billion) in domestic sales in the fiscal year 2007 ended March.

Leading toy manufacturer Tomy Takara has the world's smallest karoke system on display. Priced at 10,500 yen, the company will launch the Hi-kara machine in October.

Image: Japan's toy giant Tomy's employee Mei Kudo displays the world's smallest personal karaoke cube "Hi-kara", 7cm square cube machine with 2.4-inch LCD display and microphone equipped headphone at a preview of the annual Tokyo Toy Show. | Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

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