The insect was part of a robot series manufactured by Takatoku Toys (see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takatoku_Toys) that eventually went bankrupt.
Several of the toys from this series did make its way onto our shelves back in the mid 80s but I guess they disappeared along with the company. Anyways, the insect robot is part of a group that did make it to North America:
http://www6.pos.to/~butto/ttjo-05.html
The other group that also made it to our shelves:
http://www6.pos.to/~butto/ttjo-04.html (I purchased a few from this series and do remember them fondly).
I hope this helps.