Giveaways attached to packets of candies and chocolate are nothing new in Japan. Recently these omake have commonly taken the form of wonderfully detailed little toys and figurines in themed, collectable sets such as animals, anime characters, dinosaurs, birds, cars or motorbikes.
This year, though, omake have mutated to include something that's not only collectable, but usable -- specifically, mini CDs of original 1960s and '70s pop songs.
It's all a far cry from the first simple little bronze medals with pictures of historical figures or animals stamped on them that began to be included as incentives to buy packets of candy about 80 years ago. Since then, the market has steadily grown to the point where it's the omake that often seem to be filling the shelves of convenience stores and supermarkets -- not the actual confectionaries they are supposedly promoting.
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