The century-old Japanese company behind BEYBLADE is heading to Los Angeles for its biggest consumer-facing moment in the American market so far. On 22 June 2026, TOMY Company (TAKARATOMY) announced that BEYBLADE X, Licca-chan and Gacha, its three most popular Japan-born brands, would appear at Anime Expo 2026, running 2 to 5 July and ranked as the continent’s largest Japanese pop-culture gathering, letting American fans get hands-on with the “Asobi,” or spirit of play, it has cultivated for over a century.
The push is strategic, not sentimental. Regional expansion is a stated medium-to-long-term priority for the group, which has been building its U.S. business while worldwide appetite for Japanese entertainment climbs; by the projection of Japan’s trade ministry, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, that market could swell from a few trillion yen to tens of trillions, topping US$100 billion.
President and chief executive Akio Tomiyama tied the appearance to the company’s founding purpose, ‘Quality Asobi can inspire and delight the world’, and to the moment. “As interest in Japan-born characters and content grows around the world, we want to share that joy with more people everywhere.” He added: “Anime Expo, in the global entertainment hub of Los Angeles, is the ideal place for fans worldwide to experience the Asobi that TAKARATOMY creates firsthand.”
BEYBLADE X, which grew out of beigoma, the traditional Japanese spinning top, arrives for a third expo year carrying a brand total above 560 million units shipped worldwide. Its standalone on-site tournament, BEYBLADE X ANIME EXPO CUP 2026, is set for Saturday, 4 July, plus a live battle session pitting fans against BEYBLADE developers over from Japan, and a hands-on free-play area for newcomers and longtime fans. Licca-chan, Japan’s iconic fashion doll since 1967 with roughly 69 million units sold, makes its expo debut after entering the North American market in March 2026, premiering two Hatsune Miku collaboration products and an exclusive pre-sale. Gacha, the T-ARTS capsule-toy brand that leads Japan’s fast-growing market in the category, returns for a second year with merchandise from more than 80 capsule machines plus the backpack styled like a capsule machine, the Showy Gacha2 Light.
The backdrop is a company leaning on heritage at scale. Founded in 1924 and marking its centenary in 2024, TOMY counts BEYBLADE and Licca-chan alongside TOMICA, PLARAIL and the TRANSFORMERS lines it designs for Japanese and global markets, with subsidiary TOMY International handling North American sales. Fans will find the brands in the West Hall: booth WH-1600 for BEYBLADE X and WH-900 for Licca-chan and Gacha.
Sources
- TOMY (TAKARATOMY) Brings BEYBLADE X, Licca-chan, and Gacha™ to Anime Expo 2026, Sharing a Century of Japanese "Asobi" with U.S. Fans
- From Toys to Culture: How TOMY Is Expanding Japanese Play Worldwide – Global Toy News
