For middle-aged Japanese men, it is never too late to be an action hero. As the nation has fewer and fewer children, Japanese toy companies have found a vein of gold among grown-up kids, who are snapping up favourite childhood gadgets that are being upgraded and remarketed decades later. Major toymaker Bandai recently launched 30,000-yen (270-dollar) adult-size reproductions of an action hero belt worn on the megahit "Kamen Rider" ("Masked Rider") television series in the 1970s. "When you grow up, you face lots of loathsome things in your workplace or at home," notes Yasumasa Kawauchi, a Bandai official in charge of the boys' toys strategy. "Once you put this belt on, however, you can be Kamen Rider the hero, a different self," says the 39-year-old who himself grew up watching the show, in which the grasshopper-clad superhero battles a shady terrorist organization...A 39-year-old advertising agency official says: "I had one when I was little ... It's such sweet pleasure to see this again"...more...
Flashing belt image courtesy of Taro
