TOKYO -- Japan's declining birthrate is not good news for the country's traditional candy stores, but the dagashi, or penny candy, industry is finding new markets all across the globe.
Small boxes of bubble gum with distinctive orange illustrations are now on sale at retailers throughout the Middle East. The products are forged versions of Marukawa Confectionary's Fusen Bubble Gum, and are made in Thailand and Indonesia. These fake products, sold cheaply in the Middle East, have become a real headache for the Nagoya-based confectioner.
