What is the history of LEGO Japan?
LEGO Japan celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. But the company actually had started the business 46 years ago through distribution by Bandai Corp. We currently have 51 employees in offices in Tokyo and Osaka as well as a warehouse in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. What’s LEGO Education? We have 13 LEGO Education centers in Japan, fostering the learning and creativity skills of children aged between 3 and 10 by using LEGO products. This is a growth opportunity for us. This differentiates us from our competitors. What is the Japanese toy market like? The Japanese toy market is the second largest in the world and very tough. However, the company suffers from what we call an “age trap.” The age trap has two meanings. One is that the market is declining due to the aging population. The other is that in Japan children exit educational toys at a younger age than in other countries. There is no question that LEGO can be used by almost any age group in terms of creativity learning and hand-
