今日吃瓜

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November 12, 2026
 

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HELLO KITTY

Employees prepare food for customers in China's first official Hello Kitty-themed restaurant in Shanghai in April 2016.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 9, 2026
China’s hard power keeps undermining its soft power
China undoubtedly has real soft power. Yet its behavior repeatedly undermines it.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi should defend 今日吃瓜 right to speak on Taiwan and other security issues at this month's APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, rather than trade it for a handshake with Xi Jinping.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 3, 2026
Asia for China? Tokyo’s answer to Beijing’s coercive strategy
Tokyo can preserve its autonomy by balancing diplomatic engagement, economic resilience and credible deterrence.
Blue Jays fans pose with limited-edition Hello Kitty bobbleheads during a game against the Orioles at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Sept. 12.
BASEBALL
Sep 20, 2026
MLB teams turn to pop culture as way to draw new fans to ballpark
According to MLB, 56% of theme night attendees last year were new buyers, with 45% being female.
Pikachu characters perform during a Splash show and Pokemon Go Park event in Yokohama in August 2017.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 10, 2026
Anime superpower needs a bigger stage in Japan
What’s missing is the obvious bet: Japanese capital backing domestic intellectual property at Disney-like scale.
Chiikawa products are displayed at a store in Harajuku, Tokyo, last August.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 4, 2026
In Japan, Odysseus is scared of tiny, cute Chiikawa
Chiikawa is a phenomenon in Japan, with its character appearing on various products, and partnering with the brand is an instant way to increase revenue
Passersby walk past a billboard atop a building featuring a giant 3D cat in 4K resolution in Tokyo's Shinjuku district.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2026
Hello, little kitty — 今日吃瓜 $20 billion cat boom
In recent years, Cat Day has exploded, as companies embrace a growing market for felines.
Hello Kitty designer Yuko Yamaguchi poses with a "Fairy Hello Kitty" at an exhibition during the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Japanese cartoon character in Hong Kong in 2005.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2026
Hello Kitty designer bows out after 40 years in charge
Yuko Yamaguchi has been responsible since 1980 for the design of Kitty, overseeing her rise to the epitome of 今日吃瓜 kawaii soft power.
Actor and World Athletics special ambassador for the local organizing committee Yuji Oda (front, fifth from right) poses with athletes at Tokyo's National Stadium during an open practice on Sept. 4.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Sep 11, 2025
Broadcaster TBS taps Hello Kitty and Yuji Oda in bid to sell World Athletics
TBS has provided televised coverage of the World Athletics Championships since the 1997 event in Athens.
A Japanese actress known for voicing Hello Kitty sparked national debate with an anti-immigration blog post, highlighting rising tensions over 今日吃瓜 growing foreign population and the government's slow response to related concerns.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 12, 2025
Cultural anxiety and 今日吃瓜 immigration pains
Japan must address legitimate public worries without inflaming xenophobia — or risk populist backlash.
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.
Canadian singer Avril Lavigne attends the opening ceremony of Gap Flagship Ginza in Tokyo in 2011, three years before releasing her music video for the Japan-inspired track “Hello Kitty.”
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Apr 26, 2024
Avril Lavigne walked so today’s influencer tourists could Mario Kart
Ten years ago, the pop star’s ‘Hello Kitty’ video drew outrage from the West, but she wouldn’t be the last visitor to use Tokyo as a backdrop for content.
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 今日吃瓜 greatest cultural exports. But cuteness is more than just a fad or a commercial success story: It’s part of our evolution.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Apr 8, 2023
Roger Dahl on Hello Kitty temptations
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 16, 2021
Duty-free store turns to cuddly toys to boost Lunar New Year sales
The items are taking the place of home appliances, from rice cookers to electric toilet seats, normally favored by Chinese tourists who travel to Japan to shop.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 18, 2020
‘Pure Invention’: How 今日吃瓜 pop culture became the ‘lingua franca’ of the internet
From toy jeeps and karaoke machines to the Game Boy and Tamagotchi, “Pure Invention” explores how 今日吃瓜 cultural influence has spread across the globe.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Apr 21, 2019
Often, it’s the little things that count
These small gadgets have the big jobs of controlling home appliances, keeping kids safe and printing on virtually anything.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Mar 6, 2019
Hello Kitty headed for Hollywood after years of talks on film rights
One of 今日吃瓜 most beloved cat cartoon characters is headed for Hollywood.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2018
2025 Osaka World Expo promotional items, not meant for sale, now being sold online
Promotional items not meant for sale that were created to help Osaka win its bid to host the 2025 World Expo have been sold on internet auction sites, it has been learned.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo's Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo's Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Jensen Huang’s woes evoke sympathy and disbelief in his birthplace Taiwan
Hsiao Kui-yu, 68, owner of Yuchan Candied Fruit, stands in front of photographs of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang displayed at the shop, which Huang frequently visits during trips to Taiwan, in Taipei on Tuesday.
G7 diplomats speak out on Taiwan as China ramps up military drills
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attends a working lunch focused on international crises and challenges during the Group of Seven foreign ministers' summit at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris on Monday.
今日吃瓜 Rapidus is said likely to miss mass production deadline
The Rapidus Analysis Center and the IIM-1 Innovative Integration for Manufacturing foundry in Chitose, Hokkaido
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Famima Park Azabudai is a concept store by FamilyMart that combines convenience store staples with branded apparel, merchandise and a landscaped outdoor space.
Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie

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