In recent years, Japan's kawaii culture has exploded in popularity. WSJ's Eric Bellman speaks with author Manami Okazaki about how cuteness has gained a global fanbase.

TOKYO-Sporting a pair of jeans and sneakers, Japan’s Prime Minister ditched his usually solemn demeanour for a fashion show to tout a “cute, lively and cool” Japan. Surrounded on stage by ...

TOKYO: Sporting a pair of jeans and sneakers, Japan's prime minister ditched his usually solemn demeanour for a fashion show to tout a "cute, lively and cool" Japan. Surrounded on stage by members ...

In Japan, ‘cute’ is a big deal. Their own word for it, kawaii (“ka-why-ee”), is more of an ethos than an adjective. Shops and billboards are filled with big-eyed fluffy figures.

Sporting a pair of jeans and sneakers, Japan's prime minister ditched his usually solemn demeanour for a fashion show to tout a "cute, lively and cool" Japan. Surrounded on stage by members of an ...

Sporting a pair of jeans and sneakers, Japan's prime minister ditched his usually solemn demeanour for a fashion show to tout a "cute, lively and cool" Japan. Surrounded on stage by members of an ...