Even as Hello Kitty turned 50 this year, the cultural phenomenon shows no sign of slowing, with a Warner Bros movie in the pipeline and a new theme park due to open next year on China's Hainan island.

It’s 50 years since the creation of one of the world’s most recognisable characters, Hello Kitty. In 1974, a 24-year-old Japanese illustrator called Yuko Shimizu put pen to paper to draw the ...