Media business This article is more than 21 years oldJapan takes bear of little brain to its heart
This article is more than 21 years oldPooh, created for an English boy 76 years ago, ousts rivals in fierce cartoon marketSlow-witted, overweight and fond of a nap, Winnie the Pooh might seem a rather unlikely modern hero for Japan, a country that is more often associated with busy bees.
But in a sign of changing values, Christopher Robin's lazy 76-year-old bear has just ambled past Mickey Mouse and Pokemon to scoop the biggest share of the trillion-yen honey pot that is the country's enormous - and fiercely competitive - character goods market.
According to a the latest monthly "hit chart" - a Top of the Pops of cute cartoon animals - Pooh-san became Japan's best-selling character this summer, ousting longtime domestic favourite, Hello Kitty.
Character Databank, which produces the chart, estimates that Disney's British-born bear now has a 100bn yen (£520m) stake in the ¥1.6 trillion annual character market.
"Pooh seems to fit Japan right now - he makes people feel at ease in troubled times," said Kazuo Rikukawa, director of Character Databank. "He is comfortably imperfect, whereas Mickey is exhaustingly energetic and strong willed."
At Tokyo's Disney resort - the world's most popular theme park - Mickey always used to reign supreme, but now the crowds flock first to Winnie the Pooh. Despite a queuing time of more than two hours, the park's most popular attraction is "Hunny Hunt", a ride through the 100 Aker Wood which opened two years ago.
Soothing
To meet the extra demand generated by this ride and the Tigger Movie, Disney stores in Japan have established Just Pooh corners devoted to Winnie, Piglet, Eeyore and other characters based on AA Milne's creations. They are are almost as popular among young women as small children.
"Mickey is still our main character, but in terms of sales, Pooh has taken over," said Rieko Tsukakoshi of the company's head office. "Everyone wants to cuddle him. He has a kind of soothing quality that people like."
The appetite for all things Pooh even extends to honey. The Japan Beekeeping Association reported the best turnover in a decade last year thanks to a dramatic rise in demand for Winnie the Pooh honey popcorn. It is an impressive marketing success in what is arguably the world's most competitive character goods market.
As well as the usual international rivals - such as Thomas the Tank Engine and Snoopy - domestic manga (Japanese comic book) publishers and animated cartoon producers spin out hundreds of new titles a year, some of which - like Pokemon, Ultraman and Doraemon - be come global hits. Because the interest in cute characters extends well into adulthood for many Japanese, other firms focus exclusively on vehicles that sell everything from pencil cases and handbags to cars and bank accounts.
Sanrio employs 172 graphic artists and designers to develop new characters. The most successful of them - Hello Kitty - purrs contentedly at the heart of a £2bn, 5,000-item market aimed as much at Japanese housewives as Hong Kong teenage girls. But the latest hit chart suggests that Winnie the Pooh - created more than 75 years ago for a single English boy on the other side of the world - is now more in touch with the feelings of millions of young Japanese than any of his rivals from the domestic manga industry or the more modern figures in the Disney menagerie.
Although there has been a mini-boom for all things English since David Beckham charmed Japan during the World Cup, the successful marketing of Winnie the Pooh is not so much linked to Anglophilia as it is to the bear's easy-going nature and fashionable allergy to hard work.
According to consumer analysts, this flawed, but laid-back, personality appeals to teens and 20-somethings who are reluctant to follow the workaholic lifestyles of their parents.
The marketing buzz-word in recent years has been "iyashi" - meaning healing and relaxing - which has been used to explain the boom in aromatherapy, herbs, pets, hot springs, holidays at the beach (rather than sightseeing) - and gentle detached characters such as the sleepy Tare Panda and Winnie the Pooh.
"The interest in iyashi reflects the change in values since the bubble economy burst," said Hidehiko Sekizawa, executive director of the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living. "It is strongest among young women, who know they have to toil harder at work because of the tough economic conditions. But they are also more aware than ever of the need to pamper themselves, to relax sometimes, to accept that nothing is perfect."
At Tokyo Disneyland yesterday, there were plenty of people in agreement that one way to escape the rat race was to follow the bear. "You can feel at ease with Pooh-san. He takes life as it comes," said Koji Iwaki, a 21-year-old pizza shop worker who posed with his girlfriend for a picture with the bear.
Japan's latest Top 10 Character Chart
(From a survey of 1,350 consumers in their teens and twenties)
Men
1) Winnie the Pooh
2) Gandam Series
3) Snoopy
4) Mickey Mouse
5) Hello Kitty
6) Wannabes
7) Duel Monsters
8) Anpanman
9) Pocket Monsters
10) Thomas the Tank Engine
Women
1) Winnie the Pooh
2) Hello Kitty
3) Mickey Mouse
4) Ham Taro
5) Disney princesses
6) Anpanman
7) Snoopy
8) Miffy
9) Pocket Monsters
10) Doremi the little witch
Source: Character Ranking
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