On Instagram, Licca-chan has over a million followers.
Licca-chan, also known as "Japan's Barbie", has soared in popularity among people of all ages. Her wide eyes and demure smile has even made the doll a social media sensation, as per news agency AFP. Licca-chan has been a favourite of Japanese children since she first appeared in toy stores in 1967, with company Takara Tomy selling over 60 million of them. According to the company's official biography, she is an 11-year-old child with a French musician father and a Japanese designer mother.
On Instagram, Licca-chan has over a million followers. One admirer frequently shares funny videos of the plastic doll, while others carefully make miniature outfits and upload pictures of their photo shoots. AFP quoted 34-year-old homemaker and the doll's creator Minami Murayama as saying that Licca-chan is to thank for making her "dream come true at one-sixth of the size" of becoming a fashion designer.
"If I see a stylish woman wearing something that I couldn't wear because of my age or body size, Licca-chan can still wear it and look good," said told the news agency. She also owns around 40 dolls and has hand-made over thousand outfits for them.
Ms Murayama spends hours creating outfits for her dolls, favouring denim, which she distresses and bleaches with the help of her husband. She has also made a number of complex setups, adorning them with miniature accessories to resemble tiny cafes and fashion studios. "There are lots of different jobs I would like to do, such as running a cafe or a bakery or being a fashion designer. Of course, there's no way I could do them all in real life, but I can do them all in a doll's world," she told AFP.
A YouTube channel called "Licca-Real chan's Life," has become increasingly popular in Japan. In the videos, the doll can be seen in scenarios dealing with everyday challenges like an overflowing trash bag or unwinding at home in pyjamas. According to the channel's creator, said that the channel offers an alternative to the idealised lives that many people project online. "If you show people that even someone like Licca-chan lives like that, it gives them the courage to be comfortable with themselves," said the creator to the news agency.
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Adult Licca-chan admirers have formed an online community and trade homemade clothing and accessories. A 33-year-old graphic designer, who played with the doll said that she has rekindled her interest in the doll as a means to relieve stress.
However, the company Takara Tomy is not keen on the YouTube channel saying the videos have "a different worldview" from their "fiercely protected" official image of the Barbie. Instead, the company has launched a "stylish doll collection" aimed at older customers.