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.

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.

From adorable mascots and whimsical characters to quirky fashion trends and charming merchandise, the fascination with all ...

Sanrio recruited Shimizu and other illustrators to create “kawaii” characters at a time when cute, girlish styles were popular in Japan. But the word is used often in Japanese society, and not ...

Richard Magarey, better known as Ladybeard, is a cross-dressing pro wrestler and a heavy metal singer from Adelaide who’s made it big in Japan ... He dubs his genre as Kawaii Metal (or ...