THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: How Topps is using the Tokyo Series to build its passionate baseball card-collecting community in Japan

Steps away from Shibuya Crossing, known as the busiest crosswalk in the world, the Topps logo is branded across the entrance to a building, bracketed by images of baseball cards featuring some of the most notable Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers players.

Ahead of next week’s Tokyo Series between the teams, Topps launched an interactive trading-card experience to celebrate Japan’s baseball icons. Open through Sunday, the three-floor immersive experience brings fans through the card-collecting world, both shining a spotlight on stars such as Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui and educating how Topps has built its passionate collecting community.

Expanding beyond the United States is a key part of the evolution for Topps, which had its trading-card and collectibles division bought by Fanatics in 2022. Tapping into Asia and particularly Japan has been an emphasis for the company, which is in its fourth year of creating baseball products exclusive to the Japanese market…