Crane games conquer Japan

As school and work wrap up, crowds fill Tokyo’s many bustling arcade halls — not to battle it out in fighting games, but to snag plush toys from claw crane machines.

- MATHIAS CENA

Staff members of Stand-by Amusement Co at a crane-games display during Amusement Expo 2025 in Tokyo in November.

(PHOTO: AFP)

In one of these gaming meccas in the Japanese capital’s Ikebukuro district, aisles of crane games stretch as far as the eye can see.

The crown jewels of the arcade industry, they occupy the building’s first two floors, relegating video games to the basement and upper levels.

“Crane games are keeping the sector afloat,’ said Morihiro Shigihara, an industry expert and former arcade manager.

“Arcade operators, machine manufacturers, and even prize suppliers depend on this business,’ he told AFP.

Some 80% of the 22,000 arcades Japan had in 1989 have shut down, but revenues have held up thanks to claw machines, according to the Japan Amusement Industry Association.

Their share of revenue has climbed since 1993 from 20% to more than 60%, the association said.

Suzuna Nogi, a 20-year-old student, visits these arcades at least twice a week in search of “big plushies” on which she can spend up to ¥3,000 ($19) at ¥100 per try.