for yuko yamaguchi, designing hello kitty is her life. i started working after graduating from art school. hello kitty had made her debut six years earlier, but sales were stagnating. in 1980 yamaguchi was given the task of breathing new life into the character. yamaguchi felt that what hello kitty needed was a story that young girls could identify with. >> translator: i felt that i wouldn't be able to create a story for hello kitty if i didn't become friends with her and walk alongside her. so i talked to her every day. >> reporter: yamaguchi finds that interacting with fans is the best way to get a feel for what they want. so she's held more than 1,000 signing parties in japan and other countries. hello kitty is currently sold in 130 countries and regions. she's been made into luxury jewelry and is coveted by wealthy older customers as well as the young. there are now more than 50,000 products featuring hello kitty, and they're said to bring in several billion yen every year. and international sales are higher than sales within japan. th