Japan and China reached a deal yesterday about long-disputed gas fields located in the East China Sea. The two countries will share the profitable gas fields; Japan's private sector will invest in Chinese development. Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda eloquently said: "We will turn it into a sea of peace and friendship."
The Chinese government is officially into the deal; a foreign ministry statement said it will help foster a "healthy and stable" relationship between the Asian neighbors. But in an unusual fashion, China allowed, and even helped, nationalist protesters to demonstrate against the deal.
In other Japanese news: Sanrio Co., the company behind Hello Kitty, plans to give the cat character a fresh dose of Japan-ness. The surrogate Japanese ambassador will now infiltrate Chinese markets, as well as markets in Russia, India, and America, in a more Japanese fashion — via electronics. The company will sell digital cameras shaped like Hello Kitty's face, kitty-clad USB memory cards, and a globular humidifier (I'll have to look that up) shaped like the cat.
Hello Kitty, who gets paid for her TV appearances, is a tourist attraction for Japan's visitors who stock up on everything Hello Kitty while in the country. Considering Japan's tourist ministry just appointed Hello Kitty to represent Japan in China, I wonder if the expressionless cat had anything to do with the gas field deal between the two countries!
Mulberry
Patrizia Pepe
Francesco Biasia
I LOVE Hello Kitty!
1The last time I said hello kitty I was 18.
2I love Hello Kitty too! They had the absolute best pencils and I used them all through elementary school and junior high. I think I even had a Hello Kitty clock.
Those were the days...
3Hello kitty wasn't a hit until after I was in college. I never saw the allure of it...
4I don't think it was meant to allure you, UnDave.
5Well it certainly didn't allure me. That's for sure.
6That guy all the way on the left is either not happy or the Asian Elvis.
7I'd be happy that my daughter had grown out of her Hello Kitty phase if she hadn't grown right into a Naruto phase.
8Maybe because I grew up in Asia but I had everything Hello Kitty and I still have HK stuff in my room.
What can I say? I grew up with her. 
9Oh, no, stephley, doesn't Naruto lead to goth and video games and those computer-created illustrations of space with moons and stars and junk? It did for this one girl I know . . .
10Thanks for feeding all my fears terryt! She's already trying to decide if she's actually 'emo'. I guess a High School Musical fanatic would be scarier...
11I tell you what scares me: those Hannah Montana kids. They are going to take over. They may indeed get their best of both worlds.
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@ Terry. The HK store is overwhelming.
13I love hello kitty! She just makes me happy with her cute pink bow. I'm pretty sure you can already get the above mentioned electronics and household items. Target carries many hello kitty goodies. It'll be interesting to see the new merchandise and introduce her to a possibly new crowd.
14Hello Kitty is never a trend in Japan. Cuteness is a lifestyle for all ages.
15Hello Kitty!i love u very much!
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