Programmable pork barrels teach 20-somethings how to save more than their bacon, Thursday March 29, 2007 Japan Options

[coffeebean]

Mainichi | By Ryann Connell

This may sound like one hell of a porkie pie, but high tech piggy banks have become Japan's latest fad, according to Shukan Bunshun (3/29).

"Piggy banks used to only sell well around the New Year period (when children would bank the money they received as a New Year's gift), but now they sell well all year round. And it only used to be the cheap ones under 1,000 yen that sold, but now they go for around 3,000 yen to 5,000 yen, so adults are more likely to buy them for themselves," Daisuke Yoshikawa, a spokesman for the Tokyu Hands department store in Tokyo's Shibuya tells Shukan Bunshun. "Banks aren't paying much interest on savings, so people figure they may as well have a bit of fun if they're going to save."

Outselling all others is the Jinsei Ginko (Life Bank) piggy bank, which despite carrying a take-home price tag of 5,000 yen is sparking the piggy bank boom.

Though traditional piggy banks have required savers to open them up and count to find out how much is inside, contemporary versions like Jinsei Ginko have liquid crystal displays showing exactly how much is inside and allow for targets to be set, informing when vital stages have been reached.

Jinsei Ginko is designed to accept 500 yen coins, the largest coin denomination in Japan, with a final target of 100,000 yen. If the saver sets a target and a date for it to be met, the LCD will display different forms of animated habitat to mark achievements along the way, starting with a grimy little apartment before moving on to the final goal of marriage and promotion.

"It was thought up by a woman in her second year at the company," Hideyuki Takahashi, spokesman for Jinsei Ginko's creator Takara Tomy, tells Shukan Bunshun. "We developed it along the theme of 'Enjoy Saving' and targeted 20-somethings who always seem to struggle to put money away. By adding the story to the piggy bank, we figure we're matching adults' demands."

Jinsei Ginko went on sale with a yearlong sales target of 10,000 pieces, but sold that out within two months. Most of the buyers have been in their 20s or 30s, with men and women picking it up in roughly equal number.

Jinsei Ginko's success has also sparked hot savings for other types of piggy banks. Among them:

--ATM-Gata Chokin Kinko, which is modeled on a bank ATM and needs a card and PIN number for withdrawals to be made;

--Seni Betsu Ginko Toridashi Kun, which divides coins of different denomination into individual compartments; and,

--Jumanen Tamaru Hon, which is a book whose pages turn each time a coin is inserted into it.

For traditionalists, there are even piggy banks shaped like typical porcine models, but they oink and saunter around when a deposit is made.

Economic journalist Hiroko Ogiwara is pleased with the trend.

"Today's 20-somethings grew up in a recession, so they're good with their money," she tells Shukan Bunshun. "We're talking about money, so it's good to get into the habit of saving while you're still young. I think it's a good trend."

[monkeysigns]

i wonder if they will start selling those here in the US? i won't mind getting a mini teller machine in my apartment for coins and such. i can set a goal and for my spending habits and deposit money into it and take those money out as spending money for everything. would be nice to see if i can put more away by seeing the money and handling it with my own hands.