Lily Chen had followed a Japanese singer for two decades and was exhilarated to be among the crowd waiting outside a Beijing venue on a windy, chilly Wednesday evening. When the scheduled start time came, the doors remained closed — and she learned the show had been canceled.
“It was a huge pity,” the 35-year-old said, describing the abrupt end to an evening she had anticipated for weeks.
Organizers cited an "equipment failure" at the venue, but fans and industry insiders suspect a broader cause: a diplomatic dispute between China and Japan after comments by Japanese politician Sanae Takaichi suggesting Tokyo might respond militarily if China attempted to take Taiwan by force. Beijing has treated those remarks as a sensitive red line given its territorial claims over Taiwan.
The canceled Beijing show, which featured J-pop artist Kokia, appears to be only one among many cultural events affected by the bilateral tensions. Based on public announcements from event teams and promoters, more than 30 scheduled performances by Japanese artists in major Chinese cities have been canceled or postponed in recent days, including appearances by pop star Ayumi Hamasaki.
Hamasaki posted an apology on Instagram after her Shanghai show was called off at the last minute, sharing images of dancers on a stage facing empty seats and saying that key staff had been instructed to cancel the event the day before. Organizers for several other concerts reported that police arrived hours before showtime, either imposing conditions the teams called impossible to meet or shutting events down without clear explanation.
One dramatic incident in Shanghai involved Maki Otsuki, the singer behind the theme for the anime "One Piece," whose performance was interrupted when staff removed her microphone mid-song and escorted her offstage; the artist's team later described the halt as due to "force majeure." Video clips of the moment circulated widely online and provoked sharp public reaction.
Beyond live music, film importers and distributors in China have paused the release of several Japanese films, citing concerns about audience sentiment. China Film News, a state-affiliated outlet, warned that remarks by Japanese politicians could influence Chinese viewers' reception of Japanese movies.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the comments by Takaichi had "deeply hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" and had "worsened the atmosphere for China-Japan exchanges," without detailing specific measures. Takaichi has described her remarks as hypothetical and said she would refrain from making similar comments in parliament.
Not all cultural products have been affected equally. "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" opened in China shortly before other planned Japanese releases were pulled and has performed strongly, becoming one of the year's top imported films by box office in mainland China.
The cancellations and pauses have unsettled millions of Chinese fans of Japanese pop culture and worried promoters and small businesses that depend on cross-border cultural exchange. Events such as Wonder Festival — organized by Japanese toymaker Good Smile Company and still drawing large crowds in Shanghai — demonstrate the deep appetite among young Chinese audiences for anime, music and hobby culture.
Organizers report tangible financial losses and rising self-censorship. Nanjing-based promoter Koushin Zhao said nine months of preparation for a Yasuko Agawa concert were undone when local police imposed "extremely strict conditions" a day before the planned show, forcing its cancellation and costing his team thousands of yuan. German promoter Christian Petersen-Clausen, based in Shanghai, said he had to cancel six concerts featuring Japanese musicians and warned that abrupt shutdowns threaten smaller firms and startups in the events sector.
The pattern recalls earlier episodes in the region where cultural exchanges were restricted for political reasons — for example, the unofficial freeze on many South Korean performances and TV imports after 2016 — and raises concerns about how far diplomatic disputes can reach into everyday cultural life.
Online reaction in China has been mixed: some social media users criticized abrupt cancellations as "very rude" and unfair to fans, while nationalist commentary has also intensified, prompting some young enthusiasts to self-censor. An 18-year-old cosplay fan said she abandoned plans to wear a kimono to a convention after receiving hostile messages online and fearing a backlash.
For fans, artists and the small businesses that organize performances, the situation is a stark reminder that geopolitical tensions can ripple quickly into cultural exchange — often leaving ordinary people and livelihoods caught between national politics and personal passions.
