The card-game category's share of Japan's toy market

What this is

The card-game category's share of Japan's toy market: from 12% in the year to March 2016 to an estimated 29% in the year to March 2026, with yearly growth.

How it’s built

1. Taken from the Japan Toy Association's yearly market-size table, valued at list price.
2. Share is the card category divided by the whole toy market; growth compares each year with the one before. The category grew about 13% a year over ten years.

What we assumed

• The latest year is the association's estimate, not a final figure.The table marks the year to March 2026 as a forecast; earlier years were also revised after first release.

Sanity check

This category covers all card games in Japan, from every publisher, not only Pokémon. It grew more slowly than The Pokémon Company's own revenue, so Japanese cards alone cannot explain the company's growth.

Where it comes from

Our calculation from other figures in the trainer’s notes.