It's done wonders' The card game closing a generation gap in small Japanese town

The day before the new school year starts, four boys armed with plastic cases filled with cards are squeezing in a game at a community centre in Kawara, a small town in south-west Japan.

- Justin McCurry

Like millions of children around the world, they are obsessed with trading cards. But they are not wielding Top Trumps, Pokémon, superheroes or sports stars.

Instead, the faces on the cards belong to local men over a certain age whose professional qualities determine each game. There is Hiroyuki Fukushima, a former train driver; Fumiaki Kawai, a retired robotics expert; and even Kawara's mayor, Shigekazu Tsuruga.

They have all become unlikely local heroes, thanks to the Ojisan Trading Card Game, which began as a fun distraction but is now an inspiration for other dwindling rural communities in Japan. Ojisan means uncle or middle-aged man.

"It feels great when you win, but it's even more fun when you use a card featuring someone you actually know," says Sasuke, 12, who plays three times a week.