NAGOYA -- "Nice to meet you, this is what I look like!" That's the idea behind a line of business cards printed with the lower half of the bearer's face, the half often covered by a mask in these COVID-19 times.

       Masks, while necessary equipment during the pandemic, can make it hard for us to recognize each other's faces. So the Nagaya printing company of Nagoya's Higashi Ward decided to "brighten the world on the business front" with the smiling (literally) calling cards.

       The company was founded in 1919, and its main business is printing flyers and catalogs. As sales dropped by 30% due to the pandemic, they wondered if there was anything new they could do. The idea of printing half of a person's face on a business card emerged from the fact that, during the pandemic, it was difficult to see people's expressions under their masks, making it hard to read their feelings.

       Nagaya started selling the "smile business cards" at the end of June and has received more than a dozen orders. Companies that have ordered the cards have commented that they are "interesting" and "have a strong impact and will be remembered by the recipient."

       A Nagaya representative said, "It hasn't directly contributed to our business performance yet, but we are glad that people are interested in our idea, which no other company has had."

       (Japanese original by Shiho Sakai, Nagoya News Center)

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