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December 23, 2024
 

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KAWAII

Originally debuting on a coin purse, Hello Kitty became a national phenomenon in Japan and is now the second highest-grossing media franchise worldwide.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2024
Hello Kitty looks pretty at 50 (and is worth more than ever)
Kitty’s broad appeal, especially to adults, helped popularize the Japanese concept of kawaii (cuteness), which has since become a global trend.
A Hello Kitty fan poses with a costumed character at the Sanrio Smile Shop on its opening day at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California. Hello Kitty marks its 50th anniversary on Nov. 1.
CULTURE
Oct 30, 2024
The 'CEO of supercute': Hello Kitty turns 50
She is the undeniable queen of kawaii culture in Japan — and her likeness continues to make billions for her creators at Sanrio.
Sanrio is marking Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary this year. The character's rise mirrors that of kawaii culture globally, and her longevity offers important clues as to the future of cute culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2024
Hello Kitty turns 50. What will the next cat's meow be?
The global rise of Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year, tracks that of Japanese culture. What, then, does the next half-century of kawaii have in store?
Cute characters like Pikachu are deeply ingrained in Japanese culture. The global reach of kawaii has contributed to Japan's soft power and international appeal.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2024
What does the global power of kawaii say about us?
Kawaii is one of Japan's greatest cultural exports. But cuteness is more than just a fad or a commercial success story: It's part of our evolution.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
May 16, 2021
Kawaii, but make it subversive: Japan’s latest fashion is more than its frills
The country's over-20s are embracing cute clothing in a subversive push against adulthood.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Feb 4, 2021
Party's over: Pandemic forces closure of iconic Kawaii Monster Cafe
The cafe had hoped to capitalize on strong demand during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but with the outlook still uncertain a decision was made to let the lease expire and shut down.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 3, 2017
Wonder Woman doesn't need the kawaii treatment
If they did it to Cutie Honey and Fujiko Mine, they can do it to Wonder Woman. I’m talking about the kawaii treatment, which works like a kiss of death to bad-ass super-heroines in Japanese pop culture.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2017
Facebook's Zuckerberg suing to gain rights to Kauai hideaway over undocumented heirs
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has launched a raft of lawsuits that could see the U.S. billionaire secure full ownership of his island hideaway from local Hawaiian families who retain rights over the land dating back generations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2016
Yoshino Yoshikawa switches up his 'kawaii' sound on 'Event Horizon'
The Japanese word for cute, "kawaii," has been popping up more and more in the English lexicon in recent years. From the popularity of Hello Kitty to singer Gwen Stefani's new kawaii-filled cartoon "Kuu Kuu Harajuku" being cute means making money, and it's no different in the world of music.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Jun 11, 2016
Sweet times at Tokyo's monster cafe
Maybe it is Nasty's electric blue hair, cascading in braids around her doll-like face. Perhaps it is the gothic-style black lipstick of her friend Candy. Or the surreal fabric limbs sewn onto the dress of lilac-haired Baby.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 27, 2016
Japan's cult brands get into character
When the topic turns to "Cool Japan" and the various related efforts to capitalize on Japan's indubitable cultural capital internationally, commendation — or more frequently the lack thereof — is easy to come by. The question of how Japan markets its own culture domestically, however, is a largely...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2015
Former Line CEO's new venture aims to track the pulse of world fashion with smartphone videos
Having already spent time in the limelight as the CEO of Line Corp., Akira Morikawa has now started a new venture that targets would-be fashionistas and connoisseurs of popular culture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Nov 7, 2015
From Kyary Pamyu Pamyu to Emoda, Japanese fashion aims to be accessible
Emoda's student style
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Aug 15, 2015
AKB48 turns to an American studio
AKB48’s  commercial success in Japan is often derided as a sign of the culture’s patriarchal infantilization of women, and the girl group’s inability to appeal to Western audiences a sign of Japan’s increasingly isolated ideas about femininity, sexuality and pop music. Put simply: outside of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Aug 8, 2015
Tokyo's cool beasts of fashion
Monstrously cute dining in Harajuku
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 18, 2015
Project Anime asks the right questions
More than 90,000 attended the 24th annual Anime Expo (AX), North America's largest Japanese pop culture convention, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 2 to 5. The four-day event featured a concert by idol group Momoiro Clover Z, who were joined onstage by two members of veteran American...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jun 20, 2015
Can #socialmedia boost music sales in Japan?
Last week, Line Corp.'s, the operators of Japan's most popular messaging app, launched an in-app music streaming service called Line Music. Japan is the second-largest music market in the world after the United States, but its consumers have so far been global outliers, clinging to physical products...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
May 9, 2015
Catch the last day of Harajuku Kawaii!!; Undercover is going mad; Ultraman for the everyman
Catch the last day of Harajuku Kawaii!!
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2015
'Kawaii: Cute Girls in Ukiyo-e'
March 1-26
Zelenskyy to replace Ukraine ambassador to Japan
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky delivers a speech during a handover ceremony of Self-Defense Force vehicles to Ukraine, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, in May last year.
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda and Nissan consider mutual production of vehicles, report says
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2023.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.

Podcast

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