Yonezawa Toys

Yonezawa Toys (known also as Yone or simply Y) was one of Japan's largest and most prodigious post-war toy manufacturers and an early participant in the growing radio control market.

The company was founded in the 1950s in Tokyo and focused on the production of literally thousands of different electrically operated and mechanical toys through the early 1970s. Some were branded not as Yonezawa but as STS. It is unclear as to the origin of the STS label, but it is presumed to be that of an importer.

Yonezawa briefly dabbled in radio control in the mid-1980s with the introduction of the 1/10-scale Wave Hunter buggy, sold in North America as the Monogram Lightning.

Yonezawa's toy division was transferred to Segatoys in May 1994. http://www.segatoys.co.jp/english/index.html

Diapet / Cherryca Phenix

Diapet is the name of a series of mostly 1:40 scale die-cast toys produced by Yonezawa Toys of Japan after that company took over the Cherryca Phenix brand. While Yonezawa is best known for producing tinplate toys of particular accuracy and in the scale of 1:24-1:18, Diapet toys are smaller die-cast replicas. Their quality and realism made them popular for Asian children and collectors alike, although they have never made much of an impact in America. The word "pet" is the Japanese equivalent of "small" or "cute." Diapet toys continued being produced through the 1990s.

Other popular die-cast brands to come out of Japan include Asahi Model Pet, Miniature Pet, Micropet, Cherryca Phenix, Tomica and Collectoy. Of them, Tomica (from Tomy of Japan) is the best-known to US collectors.