By KAZUHIRO NAGASHIMA/ Staff Writer
November 12, 2020 at 12:37 JST
Production of rubber masks of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has increased at Ogawa Studios Inc. in Saitama. (Kazuhiro Nagashima)
SAITAMA--A manufacturer here didn’t wait until all the votes were counted before selling a rubber mask of President-elect Joe Biden.
In fact, Ogawa Studios Inc. in Saitama’s Omiya Ward started producing the Biden masks more than a month before the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election.
About 800 masks of the Delaware Democrat were completed. But after Biden was projected to win the race, the company kicked up operations a notch, and has set a goal of making an additional 2,000 Biden masks by the end of the year.
Ogawa Studios has produced rubber masks caricaturing celebrities and politicians.
It has sold 25,000 masks of the current White House resident, Donald Trump.
On the mask priced at 2,400 yen ($23), Trump appears on the verge of shouting angrily. The Biden mask, meanwhile, shows a gentle smile.
“Mr. Trump has a strong personality,” said Koki Takahashi, 30, who works at the company. “In contrast, we had a difficult time finding facial characteristics (for Biden). I hope he gets more media exposure and his mask sells for a long time.”
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