Japan's capsule toys appeal to adults

Just hanging out: The capsule toys include figurines of women wearing typical office clothes, whose arms or legs are designed to hang over the edge of a glass. Photos: AFP

A tiny replica of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus and a plastic cat squatting on sushi: just two of the weird-and-wonderful capsule toys that have become a multi-million-dollar craze in cute-obsessed Japan.

The industry is now worth an estimated ¥30bil (RM1.09bil), with the fastidious attention to detail in the toys appealing to the Japanese sense of precision along with a well-documented love of all things “kawaii” or cute.