After all, if there’s anything Americans know about Japan, it’s that as a country, they are absolutely obsessed with cute things. The Japanese have a name for the obsession: Kawaii.

Providing an in-depth overview of all things kawaii (cute), this book traces the cute aesthetic from its inception in the 1970s as a schoolgirl trend to its position as a leading cultural norm ...

Hello Kitty, the poster cat of kawaii and Japan’s biggest pop icon, was sketched in November 1974 by designer Yuko Shimizu for creative agency Sanrio, as a motif for a purse; ...

Pink globalisation, the spread of cute goods from Japan to other parts of the industrial world, has been a stronghold of consumption in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, particularly with Hello ...

Japan’s women are being held back by pressure from men to be cute, rather than capable, the wife of Japan’s prime minister said in an interview. "Men’s thinking has not changed," 54-year-old ...

TOKYO (AP) — Hello Kitty turns 50 on Friday. Befitting a pop icon at midlife, the bubble-headed, bow-wearing character’s fictional birthday has brought museum exhibits, a theme park spectacle ...

Japan's 'cute culture' has been taking over the world for a while now, but its history and background remain somewhat underappreciated. This exhibition, entitled 'Jakuchu's Adorability and Shoen's ...

Kimo-kawaii is at its mainstream peak right now, coming close to matching the oversaturation of kawaii. One of Japan’s most inescapable pop stars at the moment is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, whose much ...

"Cool" may have been the official buzzword recently attached to Japanese pop culture by the national government, but if the chants of the 20,000 strong audience who turned out for the Kawaii!!

It’s no secret that Japan is seriously into cuteness. Accordingly, in most situations, deeming something kawaii, or cute, is seen as high praise. This is especially true when it comes to women.