Happy Halloween! Why Does Kit Kat have Japanese Sign Language on its wrappers?

One of my students showed me a photo of a special Halloween Japanese Kit Kat candy bar with spooky characters doing Japanese Sign Language (JSL) on the wrapper. What? Why? What's going on? So I had to investigate (and buy some of those Kit Kats...)

Kit Kat is popular in Japan because of its many (glocalized) flavors: Green Tea Flavor, Strawberry Cheesecake, Apple Vinegar, Sweet Potato, Wasabi, Sakura, Choco Banana to name a few. For more of this see the recent "In Japan, the Kit Kat Isn’t Just a Chocolate. It’s an Obsession" in The New York Times Magazine, Oct. 24, 2018.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/24/magazine/candy-kit-kat-japan.html

Well, I haven't found very much in my investigation but others have noticed the sign language as well:

My KitKat has Japanese Sign Language on it.

KitKat みんなでハロウィンブレイク！

キットカットの手話イラスト

What's the connection between Kit Kat and sign language? Does anybody know?

The mystery continues with this video (not JSL... Is it a real sign language? If so, what?)



If you know anything, please share! And Happy Halloween!