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Japan's toy manufacturer Ogawa Rubber employee Yuka Nomura paints an eye on a rubber mask of US President-elect Barack Obama at the company's factory in Saitama city, suburban Tokyo. For those who just can't get enough of US president-elect Barack Obama, a Japanese mask-maker is giving thousands of people the chance to be his spitting image.
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For those who just can't get enough of US president-elect Barack Obama, a Japanese mask-maker is giving thousands of people the chance to be his spitting image.
Ogawa Rubber Inc., Japan's top rubber mask studio, is moving into high gear and is manufacturing more than 300 masks of the next US president each day ahead of his inauguration on January 20.
"We sold as many as 2,500 faces of Obama in a month. It was a great hit for us," said Takahiro Yagihara, chief creator for the mask-maker based in the Tokyo suburb of Saitama.
"I've seen a couple of Obama faces made in the United States, but ours is the best," he boasted. "We hope somebody will don our Obama mask at his inauguration."
Yagihara's studio has created a variety of rubber masks, not only those of politicians but also the faces of cartoon characters and sumo wrestlers as well as the head of a bronze Buddha statue.
One of its most successful masks was Japan's former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. The company sold 3,500 masks of the － lion-maned leader.
But Koizumi's successor Shinzo Abe was a flop, selling only about 600 masks. Abe quit after one year in office after an election rout.
The studiodid not even bother making masks of Abe's sombre successor, Yasuo Fukuda. But it has found a hit in incumbent Prime Minister Taro Aso.
"Aso has also suffered from low approval ratings, but at least he's got character," Yagihara said, looking at a mask bearing Aso's trademark grin.
Aso, who took office in September, had first enjoyed high popularity in part thanks to the strategy of selling a soft image of liking cartoons.
But his support rate has slumped to 20 percent as voters question his handling of the financial crisis in the world's second-largest economy.
Yagihara, who keeps an eagle eye out for new masks, saw dim prospects among other Japanese politicians.
"I don't see any face among Japanese politicians that would match Obama's," he said.
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(Agencies)
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對于那些還沒過夠“奧巴馬癮”的人來說，現在有個好機會，日本一家面具生產商能讓你一嘗扮成奧巴馬的滋味。
日本知名橡膠面具生產商“小川橡膠公司”目前正全力以赴，在奧巴馬就職即本月20日之前，每天趕制出300多個奧巴馬面具。
位于東京郊區崎玉市的小川橡膠公司的主設計師Takahiro Yagihara說：“我們一個月內就賣了2500個奧巴馬面具，這可是個大豐收?！?/font>
他自豪地說：“我見過美國制造的幾款奧巴馬面具，但都不如我們的。我們希望在奧巴馬就職典禮上能看到有人戴著我們的面具。”
Yagihara的公司制造過各種橡膠面具，不僅包括政界名流，還有卡通人物、相撲高手以及青銅佛像的面具。
其中最成功的產品之一是日本前首相小泉純一郎的面具，這位善于浮夸作態的領導人的面具共售出3500個。
但小泉的繼任者安倍晉三的面具銷量卻很糟糕，僅售出約600個。安倍任職一年后便在一次選舉失利后辭職。
這家公司甚至沒生產安倍晉三的繼任者---性格沉悶的福田康夫的面具。但比之下，還是現任首相麻生太郎的面具銷量最好。
Yagihara看著麻生太郎的一個帶著招牌式露齒笑容的面具說：“麻生太郎也受到了支持率走低的困擾，但至少他很有個性。”
麻生太郎于今年九月出任日本首相，剛上任時人氣頗高，而這一部分要歸功于麻生玩偶的熱銷。
但由于選民不滿其處理此次世界第二大經濟危機的表現，他的支持率已跌至20%。
Yagihara一直密切關注新的面具人選，但他認為日本政界其他人士面具的市場前景并不看好。
他說：“我覺得日本政界人士面具的受歡迎程度都比不上奧巴馬面具。”
（實習生許雅寧 英語點津姍姍編輯）
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