TOKYO — Square and loud, SpongeBob wasn’t supposed to have much chance for success in Japan, a nation famous for its love of cuddly characters like Hello Kitty and Pikachu. But the perky, bucktoothed ...

“SpongeBob SquarePants” attracts nearly 1.9 million Japanese households to his TV show daily and is raking in a growing share of the $5 billion in annual retail sales for Nickelodeon, the Viacom Inc.

TOKYO — Square and loud, SpongeBob wasn’t supposed to have much chance for success in Japan, a nation famous for its love of more cuddly characters such as Hello Kitty and Pikachu. But the perky, ...

TOKYO — Square and loud, SpongeBob wasn’t supposed to have muchchance for success in Japan, a nation famous for its love of more cuddly characters like Hello Kitty and Pikachu. But the perky, ...

TOKYO -- Buck-toothed and with eyes just a little too alert, SpongeBob was expected to fail in the Japanese market, where cute is the ultimate chic. By Julian Ryall, The Associated Press TOKYO — ...

SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will each be bolstering their presence across the Japanese market thanks to a new partnership between ViacomCBS Networks ...