FUEFUKI (Japan), April 29 — A worn-out Pikachu plushie, tired teddy bear or stained stuffed animal can all get a new lease on life at a Japanese laundry service making beloved toys squeaky clean again.

Masakazu Shimura, a cleaning professional with three decades of experience, gave one stuffed Pokemon already in good condition a steam shower, carefully brushing it after a gentle bubble scrub, almost as if caring for a newborn baby.

Videos of the meticulous care the cuddly toys receive at his workplace, Cleaning Yonmarusan, have mesmerised plushy fans on social media, awarding the high-end fabric care viral fame and attracting customers from around the world.

Relying on his expertise and experience cleaning everything from dress shirts to camping tents, Shimura washes and restores the delicate fabric of soft toys.

Masakazu Shimura brushes a soft toy during the cleaning process. — AFP pic

“While hand-washing, I carefully feel what kind of material it is and assess the condition of the material and so on, gently massaging it with my hands as I wash it,” he told AFP.

Shimura is among a dozen certified cleaning professionals at Yonmarusan, a regional chain in Yamanashi, west of Tokyo.

While the firm has been cleaning soft toys for decades, business has boomed thanks to viral social media posts in recent years on the back of a Gen Z adoration for plushies and Japan’s love for everything cute and cuddly.

Today, the service cleans more than 10,000 soft toys every year, compared to roughly 1,200 annually a decade ago.

A worn-out Pikachu plushie, tired teddy bear or stained stuffed animal can all get a new lease on life at a Japanese laundry service making beloved toys squeaky clean again. — AFP pic

And some people even “come to Japan specifically for the purpose of having their soft toys cleaned”, said Hisako Mori, the firm’s public relations manager.

“While the cleaning is being done, they enjoy travelling around Japan. At the end of their trip, they pick up their stuffed animals before heading home.”

Shimura said some clients wish to keep specific scratches or scribbles on their toys, as those marks sometimes carry precious memories.

“These items hold special memories. That’s true for clothing as well, but even more so for stuffed animals, which we recognise our customers see as members of the family,” he said.

“It’s a process where we truly cannot let our guard down... When our customers are happy with the results, that’s really the moment when we feel a strong sense of fulfilment.” — AFP

Soft toys are seen at the facility of Cleaning Yonmarusan in Fuefuki city of Yamanashi Prefecture. — AFP pic

SINGAPORE, April 28 — Stocks held their ground and oil rose on Tuesday as investors weighed the stalemate in the Iran conflict, while the yen was steady after a hawkish split at the Bank ‌of Japan underlined fears over the war’s impact on inflation.

The US was reviewing Tehran’s latest proposal to ​resolve the war, even as a US official said President Donald Trump was unhappy with the plan as it did not address Iran’s nuclear programme.

That leaves the two-month-long conflict at an impasse with energy and other supplies through the critical Strait of Hormuz still mainly shut, pushing oil prices ​above US$110 (RM434) a barrel on Tuesday.

Brent crude oil surged 2.7 per cent to US$111.20 a barrel, a three-week high, while US oil climbed 2.9 per cent to US$99.10.

Oil prices have steadily climbed in recent days as hopes ebb for an imminent peace deal, pushing up bond yields around the world in recent weeks.

Futures for the US benchmark S&P 500 stock index slipped 0.1 per cent and those for tech-focused Nasdaq fell 0.4 per cent.

European stocks dipped in early trading but the STOXX 600 index was last flat.

Corporate ‌results roll in

“Earnings season has helped markets look through the disruption, but the longer key oil flows remain constrained, ⁠the greater the risk that higher energy costs begin to bite,” ⁠said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The US S&P 500 hit ⁠another record on Monday after rising for four ⁠weeks on optimism over ⁠a possible peace deal and ongoing excitement around AI.

Investors are focusing this week on earnings from tech giants Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Apple which will test the blistering AI-driven rally.

Elsewhere, the dollar index climbed 0.2 per cent as the pound and euro both ⁠slipped by the same amount.

The dollar has been one of the few safe-haven assets during the Iran conflict, although it has given up much of its March gains in the last few weeks.

“The twists and turns of US-Iran peace negotiations continue to buffet markets,” and doubts over the progress of peace talks was pushing the dollar higher, said Nick Rees, head of macro research at Monex Europe.

Bank of Japan split on rates

The BOJ left short-term rates unchanged on Tuesday ⁠at 0.75 per cent, in the first of several central bank meetings this week that could shed light on the impact of the conflict.

“The 6-3 vote split and the stronger language on future policy adjustment suggest the ⁠bar for another hike may be falling,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo.

The yen initially strengthened but was last slightly lower ⁠at 159.53 per ⁠dollar, putting it near 160. A breach beyond that threshold has markets worried Tokyo might step in to support the currency.

Japan’s Nikkei stock ​index fell 1 per cent from a record high hit on Monday.

Global monetary policy ​will be in the spotlight this week, with the US Federal ‌Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank due to ​announce decisions after the BOJ.

All are expected ​to keep rates unchanged but attention will be on comments from policymakers on pricing pressure. — Reuters