On May 14th, the Shizuoka Hobby Show, Japan’s largest model and hobby exhibition, opened at Twin Messe Shizuoka in Suruga Ward, Shizuoka City.

The event ran for five days from May 14th to 18th, and in 2025, the 63rd event, 99 companies and organizations, including 17 model manufacturers from Shizuoka Prefecture, displaying new plastic models and figures. The first and second days are invitation days for businesses, and general visitors are not allowed to enter, but the venue was bustling with buyers and media representatives from Japan and abroad from the very first day of the opening.

Chairman Tamiya
“I may look like this, but I am in good health.”

Every year, in the morning of the first day, a press conference is held by the Shizuoka Model Teaching Materials Cooperative, which is organizing the show, and Chairman Tamiya Shunsaku, who is also the president of Tamiya, answers questions from the media, but this year he made an appearance at the venue again, even though he is now 90 years old.

When asked by the moderator to say a few words at the start of the event, Chairman Tamiya gave a typical greeting to the press, saying, “I’ve hurt my leg a bit, so I’m dressed like this, but I’m still as healthy as ever, so please take care of me,” and the interview began.

Q. What are your impressions of this year’s Hobby Show?
Tamiya Shunsaku, Chairman, Shizuoka Model Teaching Materials Cooperative
“Every year, it gets bigger and bigger. The original in Germany (Nuremberg International Toy Fair) avoids opening it to the public, but people still come to the places that are open to the public. Nothing has changed for us.” Q.

Is the industry as a whole on an upward trend?
(Tamiya Shunsaku, Chairman)
“There’s no need to ask that! It’s on an upward trend.”

Q. What impact will the tariffs imposed by the United States have on the industry?
Chairman Tamiya Shunsaku
“The current situation with plastic models in the United States is that they are simply copying the trends in Japan. So, plastic models are just starting out in Japan. It’s a little different from when you were a child. In our case (Tamiya), we export a lot. We are also working hard for children overseas, but it’s the same now.”

At the 2024 Hobby Show, reporters asked many questions about the historic depreciation of the yen, but this year, questions about the impact of the US tariff policy stood out. However, because the situation is changing and there are many unclear aspects, and each company’s response is very different, Director Daisuke Aoshima (President of Aoshima) explained that it is difficult for the union to express its opinion.

Q. Is there anything you would like to say to visitors?
Chairman Shunsaku Tamiya
“The venue (Twin Messe Shizuoka) has become small. Hobby shows are also being held in the exhibition halls of various manufacturers, so I hope you will come and see them.”

The Shizuoka Hobby Show is held at an exhibition facility called Twin Messe Shizuoka, but the main exhibition halls, the North Hall and South Hall, are already fully used, and we cannot increase the space any more. As a result, the number of exhibitors has not changed significantly over the past few years, and since the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of visitors has been limited to a pre-application system on public days for safety reasons.

Director Katsuhito Hasegawa (President of Hasegawa) said that there are still many manufacturers who want to exhibit at the show, but they are turning them down because there is not enough room, and that he would be grateful if Shizuoka City could somehow make the venue larger.

Tamiya, where Chairman Tamiya serves as chairman, will hold a special tour of its headquarters in Suruga Ward, Shizuoka City, for two days, May 17th and 18th, to coincide with the Hobby Show’s public opening, and will also promote the company’s products at locations other than Twin Messe Shizuoka. The Hobby Show’s public opening has already reached capacity, but as no prior application is required, visitors can enter the venue on the day of the show.

Chairman Tamiya, along with Directors Hasegawa and Aoshima, participated in an interview with the organizers, but at the end, as the president of Tamiya, he answered questions from TV stations about the US tariff policy on his own.

This legend in the model industry, who celebrated his 90th birthday in December 2024, is still going strong.

Original article in Japanese language by Amano Daisuke, source: SBS Shizuoka Broadcasting