Japanese Company to End Beloved Candy after 114 Years
2022-11-16
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1A Japanese company that has produced a beloved candy for 114 years says it will be going out of business in January.
2Tokyo-based Sakumaseika Co recently announced it would be forced to end operations because of rising production costs, a labor shortage and drops in sales.
3The company's main and most popular product is called "Sakuma's Drops."
4The candy - which comes in eight different fruit flavors - has been beloved in Japan for generations.
5The drops are famous in Japan and even appeared in a hit anime film.
6The discontinuation of the beloved candy caused some people to begin to mourn the treat.
7"We always had a can at home when I was in grade school," said 53-year-old sweets-shop owner Naoe Watanabe.
8He remembered how he used to use a 10-yen coin to lift open the container. Sakuma's Drops have been sold in candy shops for 114 years.
9"It feels like a sign of the times," Watanabe said.
10"There are so many choices now, compared to when I was a kid."
11Sakumaseika said it had not raised the price of the product in years.
12Many Japanese companies have been unwilling to raise prices even though their material and production costs have been increasing.
13Many businesses fear that passing along those costs would turn off many buyers.
14The future of Sakumaseika's 100 or so employees remained uncertain, a company representative said.
15Company officials did not provide comment to reporters from Reuters news agency.
16Sakumaseika was established in 1908 by candy maker Sojiro Sakuma.
17The company produced the candy through air attacks during World War II.
18The drops appeared in the 1988 anime film Grave of the Fireflies, which is set during the war.
19In it, an orphaned girl, struggling to survive with her brother, carries with her the red can of Sakuma's Drops.
20It is one of the children's few belongings after their home is destroyed.
21Hiroshi Matsuzawa is a store owner on a popular Tokyo shopping street.
22He told Reuters that Sakuma's Drops were mostly popular with older people.
23He noted that a lot of children are now uninterested in the candy because they have so many other products to choose from.
24Teruyo Ishiguro runs a small food store that traditionally is visited by many children walking home from school.
25She said she had stopped carrying Sakuma's Drops last year because most buyers were in their 50s or older.
26"It's very sad to see something disappear that's been around for so long," said Ishiguro, who had been selling the candy for more than 60 years.
27I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A Japanese company that has produced a beloved candy for 114 years says it will be going out of business in January. 2Tokyo-based Sakumaseika Co recently announced it would be forced to end operations because of rising production costs, a labor shortage and drops in sales. 3The company's main and most popular product is called "Sakuma's Drops." The candy - which comes in eight different fruit flavors - has been beloved in Japan for generations. The drops are famous in Japan and even appeared in a hit anime film. 4The discontinuation of the beloved candy caused some people to begin to mourn the treat. 5"We always had a can at home when I was in grade school," said 53-year-old sweets-shop owner Naoe Watanabe. He remembered how he used to use a 10-yen coin to lift open the container. Sakuma's Drops have been sold in candy shops for 114 years. 6"It feels like a sign of the times," Watanabe said. "There are so many choices now, compared to when I was a kid." 7Sakumaseika said it had not raised the price of the product in years. Many Japanese companies have been unwilling to raise prices even though their material and production costs have been increasing. Many businesses fear that passing along those costs would turn off many buyers. 8The future of Sakumaseika's 100 or so employees remained uncertain, a company representative said. Company officials did not provide comment to reporters from Reuters news agency. 9Sakumaseika was established in 1908 by candy maker Sojiro Sakuma. The company produced the candy through air attacks during World War II. 10The drops appeared in the 1988 anime film Grave of the Fireflies, which is set during the war. In it, an orphaned girl, struggling to survive with her brother, carries with her the red can of Sakuma's Drops. It is one of the children's few belongings after their home is destroyed. 11Hiroshi Matsuzawa is a store owner on a popular Tokyo shopping street. He told Reuters that Sakuma's Drops were mostly popular with older people. He noted that a lot of children are now uninterested in the candy because they have so many other products to choose from. 12Teruyo Ishiguro runs a small food store that traditionally is visited by many children walking home from school. She said she had stopped carrying Sakuma's Drops last year because most buyers were in their 50s or older. 13"It's very sad to see something disappear that's been around for so long," said Ishiguro, who had been selling the candy for more than 60 years. 14I'm Bryan Lynn. 15Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 16___________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18flavor - n. the taste of a particular food or drink 19grade - n. a school class in which all children are of similar age or ability 20orphan - n. a child whose parents are dead 21_______________________________________________________________________ 22What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 23Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.