Daiso is a so-called 100 yen ($0.67; £0.53) store, similar to pound shops. Mr Yano opened his first discount retailer in 1972 and was seen as a pioneer of the dollar shop business model.

That gave him the idea of charging a flat 100 yen for all his merchandise to save the time it took to attach the price tags. He incorporated Daiso, which translates to “creating something big ...

Hirotake Yano, the founder and former president of Japan's Daiso chain of discount stores, has died at the age of 80, his ...