Conference school::sports_memorabilia

278.0. "Card market opens in Japan" by SBGPX2::BELISLE (Mike Belisle MRO4-1/H20 297.3324) Mon Jun 17 1991 15:11

	Printed without permission from USA TODAY BASEBALL WEEKLY

	The USA's collecting craze has invaded Japan. The first official
	Japananse baseball cards, made in the USA, are now available in
	Japan.
	Called "Q cards", after "yakyu", a japanese word for baseball and
	"kyu" which means nine, the cards offer the traditional trading card 
	traits like statistics, color photos and team logos...all in Japanese,
	of course.
	"There hasn't been a market for baseball cards in Japan in the past, 
	but we're trying to build one," said Don Nomura, card entrepreneur,
	who has offices in Los Angeles and Toyko.
	Unlike most USA cards, the Q cards are plastic, similar to credit
	cards. "When we did our reserch, the majority of the kids we talked
	to liked the plastic better," Nomura said.
	A pack containing two Q cards sells for 500 yen (about $3.62) at all
	Japanese stadiums and some department stores. Later this month, they	
	will be sold at the more than 400 Denny's restaurants in Japan.
	Some Q facts:
		o A set has 120 cards, and 300,000 sets were made. Six cards
		  show former USA players now in Japan: Phil Bradley, Mike Diaz, 
		  R.J. Reynolds, Jim Paciorek, Boomer Wells and Matt Winters.
		o Each card has an embossed ID number on the front, based on
		  date and number of manufacture (only 9,999 cards of each 
	 	  player were printed).
		o Listed on the cards' back is the player's blood type. Nomura
		  said the Japanese believe this can be an indication of
		  personality.

	Nomura is the president of the Salinas Spurs, a Class A minor league
	team in the California League. His Japanese influence is evifdent there
	as well.	
	The Spurs, in the third season, have the only Japanese manager in the
	USA, Heidi Koga, and nine Japanese players. They also have several 
	Japanese executives in the front office.
	"What I'm trying to do is mix the two different cultures and achieve
	 one goal, winning," Nomura said. "Unfortunately, we haven't had the
	 winning yet (19-37 as of June 7)."