By TAKAYUKI SEINO/ Staff Writer
December 28, 2022 at 07:00 JST
A pearl necklace offered by capsule toy vending machines (Provided by Uwakai Pearl Corp.)
TOTTORI--Tottori and Shimane have joined the list of prefectures with “gacha gacha” capsule vending machines offering the chance to win a necklace made of domestic pearls worth 20,000 yen ($146).
It costs 1,000 yen to try and win one.
The Uwakai Pearl Corp. came up with the limited-time promotional offer to help ensure the survival of the pearl culture industry amid dwindling harvests.
“The 1,000-yen gacha gacha will create an opportunity for a broad array of people to come into contact with pearls,” a representative of the company said.
Based in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, one of Japan’s largest pearl-production areas, the pearl wholesaler has set up gacha gacha toy dispensers at about 250 locations nationwide.
The coin-operated machines accept two 500-yen coins per spin and dispense capsules containing earrings and other accessories made with pearls worth 3,000 yen.
Under the three-month campaign that started in November, the company is also offering capsules containing a ticket exchangeable for a pearl necklace worth 20,000 yen.
Each pearl measures at least 5 millimeters in diameter. An identification report and a case are also included.
One out of every 50 capsules contains a winning ticket, it said.
Since 2019, young Akoyagai shellfish have been dying en masse in the Uwa Sea of Ehime Prefecture, dealing a severe blow to pearl production.
The virus that apparently caused the die-offs was identified earlier this year, but effective countermeasures have yet to be worked out.
The new campaign is aimed at drawing attention to their plight and improving the image of the industry, in addition to promoting the charms of pearls to young people.
In Tottori Prefecture, the capsule toy dispensers are installed at the prefecture-run Tottori Karo Crab Aquarium in Tottori’s Karo district and at the Hoki Onsen hot spring facility in the city’s Ketakacho district.
In Shimane Prefecture, they can be found at the Izumo outlet of the Grappino store chain in Izumo’s Watarihashicho district and at the Yumetown Izumo shopping complex in the city’s Otsukacho district.
The machines will be there until the end of January.
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