100-year-old Japanese candy maker goes out of business due to inflation

After 114 years, Tokyo-based Sakumaseika Co announces it will shut down the company next January due to rising production costs, labor shortages and a drop in sales of its main product, ” Sakuma’s Drops .” “

This Japanese sweet consumed by several generations and so iconic that it even appeared in the hit anime film “Grave of the Fireflies” has reached the end of the line, falling victim to rising prices of raw materials and energy.

The announcement of this news put Japan in mourning. A candy store owner mentioned that they always had a tin at home when he was in elementary school, and he remembered that he used to use a 10 yen coin to open the lid of the candy. This sweet has been a corner candy store staple for 114 years.

“It feels like a sign of the times. There are so many options now, compared to when I was a kid,” he said.

Sakumaseika mentioned that they had not raised the price of the product in many years. Many Japanese companies remain hesitant to raise prices or pass through rising input costs entirely for fear of losing customers.

The future of Sakumaseika’s 100 or so employees remains uncertain as the company declined to comment further.

Established in 1908 by confectioner Sojiro Sakuma , Sakumaseika produced the confection through the air raids of World War II, inspiring anime giant Studio Ghibli to immortalize it in their 1988 film “Grave of the Fireflies.”