Smiley-faced success for Japan’s emoji creator

Universal language: A man passing by a screen showing emoji characters designed by Kurita (inset) exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. — AFP

Tokyo: From a humble smiley face with a box mouth and inverted “V’s” for eyes, weather symbols and a rudimentary heart, emoji have now exploded into the world’s fastest-growing language.

There are now about 1,800 emoji characters – and counting. They cover everything from emotions and food to professions, are racially diverse and have become an integral part of the smartphone age.