Describing the current popularity of graphic emoticon usage in Japanese social network services, blogs and mobile phone communication, this research will illustrate that these graphic emoticons are gradually evolving into ideographic images as substitutes for words or phrases, from para-linguistic or accessory markers simply showing the emotional state of the writer. In recent years, the proportion of the hieroglyphic usage of graphic emoticons is increasing in Japan every year. It will be argued that the behaviour of today's graphic emoticons observed in the network society of Japan will give us valuable insights for the implementation of the universal auxiliary visual language of the future that will overcome the barrier of language differences as well as language disorders. Possible educational applications of the future universal visual language will be proposed, while the potential of a universal translation system employing emoticon-like visual symbols will be illustrated.

Junichi AZUMA is currently a professor of EFL and media and communication studies at University of Marketing and Distribution Sciences, Kobe, Japan. His research area covers the use of innovative media in EFL, e-Learning and future communication system employing universal visual symbols. He is a vice-president for the Kansai Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Education and Technology and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Phonetic Society of Japan. Prof. Azuma has been also holding the position of adjunct professor at the Institute for Information Systems and Computer Media, Graz University of Technology in Austria since 2006.