在世界很多地方的玩具店里，日本玩具的可爱形象总是惹人喜爱。现在日本玩具制造商们也正不断拓展其玩具市场，将成年人带回他们的童年时代。

◎ By Economist staff    译/思源

  
Toys are usually among the first industries that migrate to low-cost economies. And toymakers generally need plenty of children around. So it might seem like something of a miracle that Japan — the richest big country in Asia by far, and one that has an ageing and shrinking population — has retained a vibrant1) toy industry. A stress on technology and design is the predictable part of the reason why. Less obviously, Japanese manufacturers have realised that they can expand the ￥700 billion ($6 billion) domestic market for toys, by marketing to adults as well as children.
Japanese men in their early middle-age can now relive the hit2) television series of the 1970s, which featured super-heroes and super-robots piloted by brave men out to save the world. These champions are now back, with more gizmos. Robot
  
Okoku (kingdom), a shop in Akihabara3), Tokyo's geek4) district, has sold a couple of thousand re mote-controlled robots, made by Kondo Kagaku, in the past two years. The walking robot has 17 motors and a 100-page manual and costs ￥126,000 ($1,105). Most customers, says Yamato Goto of Robot Okoku, are men who had fantasies of piloting their hero robots. Now, they can go into battle at robot tournaments held across the country.
Toymakers are rushing to come up with other new toys that appeal to adults. They are taking advantage of a growing trend among busy salarimen to put more emphasis on relaxation and fun. The stores in Akihabara that sell models and robots costing several thousand yen are not the only ones that are doing well.
Toys that help people to relax have also boosted sales. Primo Puel, a cuddly doll version of a five-year old boy, is fitted with sensors and five levels of happiness, can talk a bit and needs care. It has been a big hit with women over 40, whose own children have left home. “Little Jammer”, a toy jazz band, is also a hit — this time with men. Hidamari no tami (sunshine people), plastic dolls with simple smiley faces, are hot, not just in Japan but in America too. Other local successes include Sega's Homestar Planetarium, which brings the wonders of the night sky into the living room.
Abandoning high-tech for simplicity has been another surprising success. Toys such as Yakyuuban, a baseball game on a small field with plastic players who bat and field, have come back with a vengeance5). Besides nostalgia and relaxation, there may be a slightly more sinister6) reason for the popularity of this and similar games. The toys enable fathers and sons to play together, says Fumiaki Ibuki, the editor of Toy Journal, a trade magazine, who suggests that parents might want more direct contact with their off spring because of disturbing, much-publicised stories of alienated children committing murder.
As if to underline their success, recent top-selling toys in America and Europe have been Japanese. Their zeal7) to rejuvenate8) the Japanese market might eventually turn around toymakers' fortunes abroad, too.

玩具通常属于最先转移到低成本经济体的行业。并且玩具制造商一般需要有很多儿童消费者。因此日本这个目前亚洲最富有的经济大国——人口老龄化、人数不断减少——其玩具制造业却一直生机勃勃，这在人看来，简直是一个奇迹。究其原因，可以料想这是因为其对技术和设计的重视。潜在原因是，日本制造商意识到, 除儿童外，他们还可以向成年人推销玩具，以扩大7000亿日元 (60亿美元)的国内市场。
刚步入中年的日本人如今能重新体验20世纪70年代风靡一时的电视连续剧，剧中有超级英雄以及受勇敢者控制去拯救世界的超级机器人。这些卫士如今重返人间，并且携带更多装备。在东京的极客地带——秋叶原电子商业区，有家名叫机器人王国的商店，在过去两年已经出售了几千个近藤科学公司制造的遥控机器人。这种能行走的机器人有17个马达，一份100页的说明书，售价126,000日元(1,105美元)。叮当猫公司的山本后藤说，多数顾客都是幻想驾驭自己的英雄机器人的男性。如今他们可以在全国各地举行的机器人锦标赛上扬威沙场。
玩具制造商正马不停蹄地生产出吸引成人的其他新玩具。繁忙的工薪族越来越强调放松和休闲，玩具制造商们就利用这个不断增长的趋势。除了在秋叶原电子商业区出售几千日元模型和机器人的商店，其他商家的生意也很兴隆。
帮助人们放松的玩具也增加了销售额。普里莫•皮埃尔是一款模仿5岁小男孩的逗人爱抚的玩具娃娃，上面安装了传感器，有5个层次的高兴表情，会说一点话，需要人照顾。这款玩具在40岁以上女性中销路极好，这个年龄段的女性的孩子都已离开了家。一款爵士乐队玩具“小詹莫”也风靡一时——这次是受男性欢迎。有着简单笑脸的塑料玩偶“阳光人类”不仅风靡日本，而且在美国也大行其道。其他在当地成功的玩具包括希捷的家庭之星天文馆，这能让客厅里出现夜空的神奇景象。
另外一个令人称奇的成功是返璞归真，放弃高科技。例如任天堂棒球这种游戏(塑料运动员在小球场上击球和接球) 出乎意料地重新热销。除了怀旧和休闲，这种以及与其类似的游戏之所以流行或许还有个糟糕的原因。行业杂志《玩具》的编辑文炳伊吹说这种玩具能让父亲和儿子在一起娱乐。他还暗示说父母可能想与子女进行更多的直接交流，因为媒体经常报道儿童因受到疏远而自杀的事件，这令人十分不安。
最近位居美国和欧洲销售排行前列的玩具也由日本制造，仿佛这是为了强调日本玩具制造的成功。重新振兴日本市场的热情可能最终也会扭转海外玩具制造商的时运。

 
1． vibrant  adj. 充满活力的
2． hit  n. (演出等)成功
3． Akihabara：秋叶原，东京著名的电子产品区
4． geek  n. 极客，英文原意是“杂耍演员”(通常表演怪诞的节目)，现指年纪轻轻就崭露头角的企业家、网络高手等。
5． with a vengeance：极度地
6． sinister  adj. 不幸的，不祥的
7． zeal  n. 热心，热情，热诚
8． rejuvenate  vt. 使恢复活力，使回春，使更新