latest victim of surging inflation
The hard fruit drops are so iconic
they once appeared in a Studio Ghibli film
But hit by rising costs and a drop in sales
Sakumaseika Co has announced it's closing
The news threw many in Japan into mourning
[Honoka Kawasaki, 23-year-old student]
"I think that Sakuma's Drops going out of business is sad news for young people, and the children in Japan. When I was a child, I used to eat them too. I used to eat them with my family. Thinking that those memories will no longer exist from now on makes me feel sad."
Sakumaseika was established in 1908
by confectioner Sojiro Sakuma
It made candy through World War Two
And the drops were immortalized in
the 1988 film 'Grave of the Fireflies'
[Takeshi Nemoto, Stock clerk, Kawahara Shoten Sweet Shop]
"This is the main product of that candy maker. They have other candies too, but since the drops became famous, it became their main product. When it does not sell well, the company is bound to disappear."
