Grabbing a bargain: Japan’s claw machines cash in on inflation

A woman wins a pack of paper towels from a claw machine game at a Benex arcade in Kawasaki. As inflation weighs on Japanese households, huge arcades on the outskirts of major cities are installing claw machines filled with eggs, rice, laundry detergent and other necessities. | AFP-JIJI

Oct 26, 2026

Kawasaki, Kanagawa Pref. – With one eye on her baby in a stroller, Minae Kamata operates an arcade machine in a Tokyo suburb, manipulating a claw to grab not a stuffed toy but a pack of toilet paper.

As inflation weighs on Japanese households, huge arcades on the outskirts of major cities are installing claw machines filled with eggs, rice, laundry detergent and other necessities.

The “shop-and-play destinations” merge essential buying with entertainment so that families do not feel a choice between bringing home the basics and treating themselves to a day out.

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