Your takeaway from my comment was that I think everything Japan does will later be popular in America? I didn't say that. I do see plenty of examples of stuff t

Your takeaway from my comment was that I think everything Japan does will later be popular in America? I didn't say that. I do see plenty of examples of stuff that pops in the west years after it was a hit in Japan. However, the point of my earlier comment is that Japan (and many other parts of Asia) have been adapting their language to new media, and stickers are an important extension of that, and thus are tied to quite a fundamental aspect of human life.