Osamu Miyawaki 80, is the founder of Kaiyodo, a world-famous maker of collectable figures and tiny statues that are the epitome of Japanese monozukuri ("making things," signifying superb manufacturing). Kaiyodo's super-deformed characters, many from manga and anime, are easily recognizable for their exaggerated features, vivid colors and incredibly accurate details. Miyawaki raised the level of omake, the tiny giveaway toys that come with sweets and soft drinks, from things that few kids ever wanted to high-quality works of art that adults collect. He was also the first to credit his artists, making them stars in their own genre: Shinobu Matsumura is famous for animals, Kazunari Araki for dinosaurs, Katsuhisa Yamaguchi for his Revoltech series of robots and Bome for his sexy figurines, including the one that he did for the artist Takashi Murakami, "Miss Ko²."

Instead of fighting, change your business style. In 1964, I had a small hobby shop where I sold plastic airplane model kits for kids. In the afternoon the place was full of children. At that time, Japan had at least 10,000 such hobby shops, but mothers would come in and yell at the kids for not going to juku (cram schools). They were mad at me, too, because they felt I stole their kids. I struggled for two or three years, when I finally realized that I should switch from children to adults.

A man must be honest with his wife. We've been married for 50 years and we have an open marriage. At least, it's open on my side. I tell my wife if I am going on a date, and she gives me the money for my escapades because she is in charge of all our finances. I never lie to her. She knows what kind of women I date, and many of my lovers become good friends with her. My wife is my best friend, my mom, my love, my goddess. She is 81 and looks a good 20 years younger — she's just a fabulous, kind, smart, elegant woman. We never argue, 'cause we're so happy together. She is always at the company, running it while I am out chasing dreams and skirts. She is never jealous. We have conversations and express our love for each other every day. That is very important. She knows that I love her the most and that I bring home to her the energy I get from younger women.