Kitty-chan is going through a rebellious stage in her life when she joins forces with j-rock superband X JAPAN for their 2009 World Tour.

SANKEI SPORTS first broke the news that the cuddly SANRIO character was shedding her cutesy image for leather and chains after a press conference held by X JAPAN.

X JAPAN came together in 1982 and single-handedly created the visual kei genre of Japanese rock music, which gained ascendancy during the 1990s and continues to flourish worldwide today.

The band has broken up and re-grouped several times in their long and tumultuous careers — the most controversial of which was when their lead guitarist HIDE (Matsumoto Hideto) died of accidental asphyxiation. He was 34 at the time.