LINE : Emoji Sets Featuring Popular Characters Go On Sale Today

● New feature brings even more fun and excitement to LINE Chat

● 200 designs in total spanning five series launch as first batch

● Designs include Mickey Mouse , Hello Kitty, Usamaru, and LINE characters

TOKYO - April 19, 2018 - 'LINE Emoji,' emoji sets of various characters that can be used in chats over the LINE messaging app operated by LINE Corporation, go on sale today.

Since the launch of the service in June 2011, LINE has provided a variety of features to enrich communication among its users. Some of these features include: 'Chat' which provides real-time chatting one-on-one or in groups; 'Stickers' to express emotions with a tap of a finger; and 'Free Voice / Video Call' to make calls free of charge.

The launch version of the app also offered 'emoji' depicting faces, symbols, buildings, and animals. That variety has grown to more than 1,000 designs over time. Further, with the rise of smartphones and social media platforms, and the new norm of users exchanging text-based messages with various people, using emoji to express emotion has become common not only in Japan but also overseas, so much so that the Japanese word 'emoji' is now a universal term. Then in July 2017, LINE launched 'emoji letters' - colorfully designed hiragana, katakana, alphabets, and symbols - which, when used in combination with regular text, enabled users to send even more expressive messages that show their personality.

The latest 'LINE Emoji' sets (available for purchase from today) have turned popular characters into 'emoji' with the goal to offer an even more enjoyable communication experience to users.

The lineup at launch, totaling 200 emoji, features five series including: Brown, Choco and other LINE characters, Disney（Mickey Mouse）, Hello Kitty, Usamaru, and others. The emoji depicting a wide variety of characters are likely to add fun and excitement to any chat.

LINE has plans to expand the character roster over time to include Snoopy, Doraemon, Rilakkuma, Rascal the Raccoon, and more, as part of its efforts to build a service that enables users to enjoy chatting freely in their own, unique way.

LINE Emoji Overview

Price: JPY 240 (incl. tax) or 100 Coins per set

Available locations: Sticker shop within the LINE app and the official LINE Store on the web

Store URL: line://ch/1359301715/#emoji

LINE Emoji Promotional Video

To commemorate the launch of LINE Emoji, a special video about communicating using LINE Emoji ha gone live. The video features high school students using LINE Emoji in their chats to express their excitement about kick-starting their sophomore year.

URL: https://youtu.be/uPNqPBtA3LE

LINE Emoji History

October 2011: 117 emoji launched, depicting faces, symbols, buildings, animals, etc.

March 2013: 20 emoji added, depicting Moon, Brown, and other LINE characters

July 2013: 46 emoji added, depicting Cony and other characters; 74 existing emoji designs updated

(This was around the time when emoji specifications were modified so that a single emoji can be displayed in a chat room in large size, similar to a sticker)

April 2014: The feature underwent a major overhaul, and users could start using more than 1,000 emoji

August 2014: 'Suggest feature' that recommends emoji to users for words they enter in a chat room launched

July 2017: 1,236 new emoji letters added

Detailed survey results on communicating using emoji

Prior to the publication of this press release, an online survey *1 regarding communicating using emoji on LINE was conducted. According to the survey results, 90% of respondents had used emoji on LINE over the past year, and around 80% had used emoji letters over the past month.

Further, when asked how they use emoji, respondents answered that they use emoji as stickers, replace proper nouns with emoji within a text message, use multiple emoji to create artwork, and more, illustrating the diverse ways in which emoji are used.

*1: Smartphone-based online survey conducted among LINE users.

Survey period: From 6:00 pm on August 10, 2017 to 10:00 am on August 15, 2017

Respondents: 6,735 users

Surveyed region: Japan

When asked to provide more detail, survey respondents described how they generally use emoji in chats. Below is a ranking showing the most common ways in which emoji are used.

LINE will continue to undertake various initiatives to provide users with a richer communication experience.