The popularity of the mannequin minstrel Kuidaore Taro, mascot of an eatery in Osaka's Minami district, has generated ¥900 million in economic stimulus in the area since the circa-1950 restaurant's closure was announced in April, according to a university study.
The report was compiled by Kansai University of Suita, Osaka Prefecture, to coincide with the restaurant's closure Tuesday.
The study found that the April decision by the restaurant Osaka Meibutsu Kuidaore to call it quits after 59 years drew heavy media attention and triggered a chain reaction of economic stimulus effects worth ¥882.86 million as customers flocked to the restaurant and other shops in the district.
The economic windfall, which amounts to ¥3.5 billion on an annual basis, is about the same annual tax revenue that a municipality with 25,000 residents would generate, the report said.
The estimate, however, does not include sales from various events that featured the minstrel, which has been loaned several times since the restaurant's closure was announced, the report said. Those data were not available to the university.
But if those figures could be obtained, said professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto, who wrote the report, the total economic effect generated by Kuidaore Taro would easily surpass ¥3.5 billion on an annual basis.
